Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story
by The Dragon Legend
Summary: Lost in a galaxy far, far away, Shadow must find his way back home. Along the way, he will impact the war in a way neither Jedi nor the Sith are happy with.
1. Prologue

**I own none of these characters.**

 **This story was co-authored by my brother, who knows Star Wars and its characters much better than I do.**

 **Note regarding timelines: This story begins near the end of the Star Wars: The Clones Wars cartoon, after the first story arc of season six but before any of the other episodes. On the Sonic side of things, this story happens after Unleashed but before Forces.**

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Prologue

"Just a few more adjustments and… there!"

A round man in a red coat straitened up from his work. He stroked his bushy mustache as he gazed in satisfaction at his creation. He gazed especially fondly at the seven glowing gems inserted in it.

A small, black, and red robot with a round head asked, "So Dr. Eggman, what does it do?"

"I'm glad you asked, Orbot! You know how I constantly lose to Sonic and his friends?"

"How could I not know?"

"Going to ignore that. Anyway, do know why they always win?"

"Because your allies always turn on you and your plans are poorly thought out?"

"No! It's their Chaos Powers! No matter how powerful and destructive my creations are, they always use the Emeralds to achieve their Super forms and wreak them! But now, I finally have a way to compete with their abilities!"

"And how are you going to do that?"

"I'm going to use this machine to infuse my body with Chaos Energy! After I test it of course."

An explosion rocked the base.

"What was that?"

"Doctor! We have an intruder!"

"Sonic!"

"No, it's Shadow!"

"No time for tests, we're doing this now!" So saying, Eggman inserted himself into the machine.

The door to the lab flew off its hinges. A spiky creature with black and red fur stalked into the room.

"Too late, hedgehog!" Eggman activated the machine.

It shook with a rattling sound and began emitting sparks in response.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Orbot asked from where he was hiding under the table.

"Um, no!"

"What have you done this time Eggman?" Shadow asked, eyeing the machine warily.

Eggman frantically hit buttons and switches in his machine. "Oh no! Oh no!"

Shadow pulled Eggman out of the contraption. "What is it doing?"

"Not what it's supposed to do, I can tell you that!"

"That answer is vague and useless."

Shadow looked back at the machine, which was now beeping at a high pitch.

"Well, whatever it is, it's going to explode."

Eggman stealthily pulled out a taser and hit Shadow with it, causing him to scream in pain and fall to the ground. "Yes, and you with it! So long, sucker!" Eggman bolted from the lab, and Orbot hurried after him.

Shadow writhed on the floor, limbs jerking with electricity. He heard an explosion, and a bright light obscured his vision before giving way to blackness.


	2. A Galaxy far, far Away

**This story is now being Beta'd by PierceTheVeils.**

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Shadow was woken by the sound of an explosion.

"Everyone get down! Get down!"

Shadow was laying on a raised walkway in a dark room. Strange machinery hung from the ceiling. Sounds of combat came from outside the room. A quick look around told him this was not Eggman's laboratory.

"What is this place? How long have I been out?"

He tried standing. There was no residual electricity hampering his movements, suggesting he'd been out for at least several hours.

A door opened. A dozen figures in white armor backed into the room.

"Everyone fall back!"

It was the same voice that had been yelling earlier. They closed the door as soon as they were all in the room.

"Well that could have gone better."

"Is there any way we can get back to the ship from here?"

They all had the same voice, and they were all of the same height and build. The helmets they wore hid their faces, and Shadow wondered if they looked the same underneath.

"Uh, guys?" One of them pointed at Shadow. "What is that?"

"I'm Shadow. Where the hell am I?"

"You're in a place that's about to be overrun with battle droids, that's where you are."

"What's going on? And who are you guys?"

One of them gives Shadow an incredulous look. Or at least Shadow thinks he does. The helmet made it hard to tell. "You seriously don't know about the Clone Wars? We've been fighting over this planet for months!"

Shadow concluded that wherever he was, it was very far away from home.

"Look, we don't have time to explain this to you. Is there another way out of here or what?" The question was directed to one of the other soldiers.

A resigned shake of the head. "No, sir. We're trapped in here."

The door was forced open again, and a great many robots shoved their way into the room.

"Clones! Blast them!"

The white armored soldiers took cover behind the machinery. The robots paid no mind to Shadow, and focused their fire on the clones as they called them.

"Looks like this is our last stand boys! It's been a pleasure fighting with you!"

Shadow observed the shootout in front of him, wondering what he should do. Then one of the robots spotted Shadow.

"What is that thing?"

"It's not officially an enemy. Just ignore it."

"Roger Roger!"

Shadow looked back at the clones. They would die in a matter of minutes if he didn't do something. He looked at the robots again. In his experience, people who attacked others with robots were not good people. But what if that side was fighting with robots to avoid sacrificing actual lives in battle? Who were the good guys here? Were there any good guys?

The clones shouted jeers and challenges at the impassively approaching robots.

Machines could be replaced. Lives couldn't.

Shadow curled into a spiked ball and spun briefly in place before rocketing off at high speed. He smashed into the robots, slicing them to pieces. The clones stopped firing and watched in amazement as Shadow tore through the droids as if they were made of paper.

Shadow went out the door that the clones and droids had come through and continued his destructive rampage down the hallway. The robots were taken down before they could react. In less than a minute, the entire corridor was filled with broken droids.

The clones poked their heads out of the room.

"Did he just wipe out an entire battalion of droids by himself?"

A beeping sound was heard, and the soldier looked at his wrist.

He pressed a button and a voice came through. "What's the situation?"

"Uh… area is clear sir."

"Clear? I just sent you to do recon! How did you even manage to clear out an entire sector by yourselves?"

"Well, we didn't. We had help."

"Help from whom?"

"We aren't really sure sir."

"I can answer your questions about me as long as you answer my questions about you." Shadow interjected.

"Sir, we're bringing a civilian back to the ship."

* * *

Outside, the towers of a city could be seen poking above the clouds. Below them there were... more clouds. Clouds as far as the eye could see.

"How high above the ground are we?" Shadow asked.

His clone escort snorted. "Good one."

Shadow looked him strangely, but decided not to question the matter further.

Aboard an enormous ship that the clones called a Jedi Cruiser, Shadow was brought before a person that looked almost human, except for the horns on his forehead.

"Shadow, you said your name was? This is General Eeth Koth"

Shadow wasted no time in firing off questions. "What is going on? What are these 'Clone Wars'? And where am I?"

Eeth decided to start with the last question. "This is Cloud City."

"That doesn't mean anything to me. I've never heard of this city."

"This is the Bespin System."

Shadow just gave him a blank stare.

Eeth frowned. "How did you get here without knowing what this place is?"

"There was madman named Dr. Eggman. He built a machine. It exploded, and I woke up here."

"Interesting. And what was this machine supposed to do?"

"I don't know. All I know is that is used the power of seven magical stones called the Chaos Emeralds." Shadow thought about what he just said. "Actually, those Emeralds are probably the reason I'm out here."

The ship's captain addressed Eeth, "We have incoming droid bombers!"

"Get our starfighters in the sky now!"

"Sir! We're detected droid boarding craft!" Another clone shouted.

Small ships with a tooth like protrusion on the front closed in on the larger ship. They slammed into the hanger doors, driving their protrusions right through them.

"Sir! They're in the hanger!"

"I'm on my way." Eeth turned to Shadow. "So, you wiped out an entire battalion of droids, huh? Would you mind doing it again?"

"Before I do anymore fighting, I need to know what this war is about. Why should I fight for you?"

"Well to make a long story short, those are the Separatists and they threaten the peace of the Republic. I hope that's a satisfying enough answer for the moment because I really don't have time to explain more."

The general then hurried towards the hanger.

Shadow huffed at the vague answer. After some internal deliberation, he came to the conclusion the he should fight. Partly because if he didn't more clones would die, and partly because he was standing in the ship that was being attacked.

He made his way into the hanger to find it filled with attacking robots. These were different from the ones he had fought previously. Those had been thin and tan colored. These were stockier and gray colored. They were firing wrist mounted rockets at the small ships in the hanger. He spotted Eeth cutting the robots apart with some sort of laser sword.

Shadow activated his jet shoes and moved in a skating motion over to one of the robots and kicked it across the room, before moving on to other targets. Unknown to Shadow, his battle was being observed by a Separatist probe droid. It watched as Shadow charged at another target and smashed it with his gloved hands.

One of the droids fired its rocket at Shadow. He jumped over the rocket, and it blew up a bunch of crates that were behind him. Their contents were scattered all over the place. It mostly appeared to be parts and tools, but one item caught Shadow's eye.

Shadow couldn't believe it. What was a Chaos Emerald doing here? But now was not the time to think about that, as the blaster shots flying past his head reminded him. Shadow ran for the Emerald. He grabbed it and felt its energy course through his body. He turned his attention back to the droids that were shooting at him. He pointed his hand towards the droids. The droids were intelligent enough that they knew this gesture was a bad sign, but they could not move fast enough to avoid the yellow bolt of energy that leaped from Shadow's palm.

It struck one of the droids and punched a hole through its body. The droid collapsed and another one stepped forward to take its place. Shadow called out, "Chaos Spear!" and fired more bolts of energy into the surrounding droids.

The clones stopped fighting and watched as Shadow destroyed the droids just by pointing at them.

"How is he doing that?"

"Having him is like having another Jedi!"

"I've never seen a Jedi do that."

Then they heard Shadow shout, "Chaos Control!"

They watched Shadow destroy all the remaining droids before they could even blink.

"I'm really glad he decided to take our side."

Eeth approached Shadow. "Very impressive. But where did you get that jewel?"

"I should be asking you that. It was in one of those boxes."

"It wasn't supposed to be there. It wasn't there when we loaded those crates."

"This is a Chaos Emerald. It must have been transported here along with me. Meaning the other six are also out there somewhere."

"You say these Emeralds contain energy?"

"Yes. Lots of it."

One of the clones spoke up. "Is that what allowed you to do all the crazy stuff that you just did?"

"Yes and no. I can still do those things without an Emerald, but I reach my limits a lot quicker. If I had attempted that stunt without one, I probably would have burned myself out."

"So, these things are basically super powerful batteries?" The same clone asked.

"Not exactly how I would describe it, but yes."

It was then that Eeth Koth noticed the probe droid watching them.

"Probe droid!"

He reached out his hand and the droid came flying towards them. Once it was close enough, he ignited his laser sword and cut it in half.

"What was that?" Shadow asked, looking at the wreaked droid.

"That was a probe droid. The Separatists were watching us."

"So, they heard our entire conversation just now?"

* * *

On a ship on the other side of Cloud City, a super tactical droid was analyzing the data the probe droid had sent it. It closely observed the footage of Shadow as he tore through the super battle droids and shot bolts of energy from his hands.

The creature was unlike anything the droid had in its data banks. Never before had it seen such power, not even from a Jedi.

It turned to another droid. "Contact Count Dooku. I have something he'll be very interested in."


	3. Trading Information

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Count Dooku was alone in his chamber, meditating. The Force was a stream and he floated within it, letting the current carry him where it would. As a Sith, he really shouldn't have been using the Jedi's meditation technique, he should have been trying direct the course of the stream and make it go where he wanted it, but it was hard to unlearn decades of training and this method of meditation was much more relaxing.

The stream seemed to tug him in a certain direction. The Force wanted to show him something. Then, a vision struck him. A vision of strange creature he had never seen before. The creature was small, yet it exuded an aura of power and it was leading an army of clone troopers.

 _Interesting_ he thought. _What could this mean?_

His thoughts were interrupted when a droid came in.

"Sir, you have an urgent message."

The droid lifted up a holoprojector. A holographic projection of Kalani, a super tactical droid, appeared.

"Count Dooku, our takeover of Cloud City was thwarted by an unidentified lifeform."

"Unidentified lifeform? What can you tell me about this lifeform?"

"Transmitting captured footage now."

Dooku watched the footage and recognized the creature from his vision. He watched as the lifeform smashed through the super battle droids' thick armor with ease. Then Dooku saw him pick up a strange gem and shoot powerful blasts from his hands.

"How unusual."

Dooku wasn't sure what to make of this information. Based on his vision, and now this footage, he concluded that this thing, whatever it was, would become a powerful ally of the Republic. He decided that the best thing to do would be to inform his master, and see what he thought of the situation.

* * *

"Okay, so where are we going now?" Shadow gazed at the clones preparing the ship for takeoff.

"We are going to Coruscant." Eeth informed him. "We're going to meet with the rest of the Jedi Council and tell them about your little situation. People and powerful gemstones appearing out thin air is something we find… concerning."

"I just want to go home. In any case, you still haven't properly explained this war, and I'd like to hear about this Council too."

"I believe you said that you would answer questions about you if we answered questions about us. That seems fair to me, so why don't we sit down and talk?"

Eeth led Shadow to a small meeting room where they both sat down.

"If you need anything, please feel free to ask. Now, on to your question about the war." Eeth explained who the Republic and the Separatists were.

Shadow crossed his arms. "Well the Separatists don't sound _so_ bad."

"Their main goal may not sound bad, but how they go about achieving it is." Eeth described the atrocities committed by the Separatists.

"All bad things admittedly, but I can't help but notice you didn't deny the accusation of corruption."

Eeth looked slightly regretful. "No. No I didn't. They aren't necessarily wrong, but how they choose to solve this matter is completely inexcusable. They refuse to make peace with the Republic. And so now, we must fight to defend the Republic."

"Now I believe it is my turn to ask a question." Eeth went on. "So, tell me more about these Chaos Emeralds and how they work."

Shadow took out the Emerald. The large, diamond-cut stone glowed softly in his hand. "Well, how I use them is that I absorb energy from the Emeralds, and from there I can use the energy for a variety of things." He went on to describe some of his powers.

"Fascinating. Now, where you're from, do other people have these abilities?"

"Not many. People who can use chaos energy are called Chaos Adepts. The powers they can get vary a lot. However, I've yet to meet anyone with as many different abilities as me."

"Now, you said that the Emeralds powered the machine that exploded and sent you here. These Chaos powered machines can be used by non-Adepts?"

"You can't just put the Emeralds into any old machine and expect it to work."

"Can a non-Adepts build a machine that will work?"

"If you're a genius, yes. It's been a while since you answered one of my questions." Shadow said with an irritated frown. "Tell me about this Jedi Council."

"The Jedi Council consists of twelve Jedi who are chosen for their wisdom and experience." Eeth explained.

"And what is a Jedi, exactly?"

"The Jedi are the guardians of peace and justice in the Republic."

"Do all Jedi have psychic powers?"

Eeth told Shadow about the Force and how the Jedi use it to protect the galaxy.

"My turn again." Eeth decided. "Tell me about this 'madman' who built that machine that exploded. Who is he?"

"He calls himself Dr. Eggman. He wants to rule our planet and turn it into an industrial wasteland. I and several others continuously foil his plans."

"And he's smart enough to build a machine that uses the Emeralds?"

"Unfortunately, yes. That why we have to fight to keep the Emeralds away from him."

Eeth appeared concerned. "Do you think it's possible that the explosion that sent you here might have done the same to him?"

This caught Shadow by surprise. He hadn't thought about the possibility. "I… don't know. Depends how big the explosion was. Even if he was caught in it, he may not have survived the trip. Either by virtue of not being a Chaos Adept, or by having the misfortune to appear in a place already occupied by something else. Even if he is here and alive, I wouldn't worry about him. He's not that much of a threat when he can't hide behind his machines."

"My turn." Shadow said and asked, "So, your soldiers here, they're all… clones?"

"Yes. When the Separatists threated the Republic, the clone army was made to fight them."

Shadow looked a bit skeptical. "You just made them, just like that?"

"Well, technically, this army was made without approval from the Jedi Council, but with the threat of the droid army too big for the Jedi Council alone to handle, we accepted the help from the clone army."

"Where did these clones come from, exactly?"

"They come from the planet Kamino."

Shadow shook his head. "That's not what I meant. Who decided to make an army of clones? And why?"

"Jedi master Sifo-Dyas requested the creation of this army. Apparently, he saw this war coming."

Shadow began to feel a bit suspicious. "So, they were created specifically to be soldiers."

"Yes. On Kamino, they are trained from birth."

"Have there ever been any clones who didn't want to be part of your military?"

"The clones are designed to be completely loyal, however, there have been rare occasions when deviant clones have betrayed or left the Republic."

"And what happens to those clones?"

"They are taken back to Kamino and studied so we can find out what made them defective." He said it causally, as if he were talking about objects, not living beings.

"I see." Shadow's face had gone carefully neutral. "If you don't have any more questions, I'd like to rest until we arrive at Coruscant."

Eeth sensed Shadow's anger. "Is there a problem?"

"I'm have a few questions about the clone army for the Jedi Concil."

Eeth had a bad feeling about this. "I'll show you to your quarters, so you can rest."

* * *

Shadow was brought before the Jedi Council. Twelve chairs were arranged in a round room with panoramic windows that offered a stunning view of a massive city. The leader of the Council was a small, wrinkly, green creature who spoke in a strange way.

"Looking for these Emeralds, you are?" Yoda asked.

"Yes, with the power of all seven Emeralds, I should be able to Chaos Control my way back home."

Eeth spoke up. "If these Emeralds are as powerful as he says they are, we should help him recover them so that they don't fall into the wrong hands."

"With the Clone Wars going on, we don't have time to go treasure hunting." A dark-skinned human named Mace Windu put in.

"I can find the Emeralds on my own. I don't need your help." Shadow asserted.

"You seem to know very little about our galaxy." Eeth pointed out. "I don't think you would do very well on your own."

"Yes, a guide you will need."

"I volunteer myself to be his guide." Eeth offered.

"Fine." Shadow relented. "But I have some questions about your clone army."

"And what interest do you have in the clone army?" Plo Koon's expression was unreadable to Shadow.

"It seems pretty clear to me that the clones aren't given a real choice about weather or not they serve you."

"In desperate times, sacrifices need to be made for the greater good." Mace Windu said calmly.

The calmness sounded like apathy to Shadow. He decided that continuing to discus this with them was a waste of time and let the matter drop.

The meeting concluded and Shadow and Eeth left.

"I'd like to pay a visit to this Kamino place." Shadow told Eeth.

"Well I'm afraid not just anyone is allowed to go to Kamino these days. It's the Republic's most important military base. If we lose that, we lose everything. If you're concerned about an Emerald being there, I'll contact them and order a search."

"I want to talk to whoever is in charge of this Kamino place."

"Well, the senator who represents Kamino happens to be right here on Coruscant. If you like I can see if she's available to meet with you." Eeth offered.

Eeth was able to successfully arrange a meeting. He waited outside while Shadow went in to the Senator's office.

The alien Shadow met was very tall and thin. Large, dark eyes were set in a small, round head.

"This better be important, I am very busy you know." Halle Burtoni said testily.

"I have a few questions about your clone army." Shadow craned his neck to glare up at her. "These clones are designed to loyal to the Republic, right? How do you make them that way?"

"We have special bio chips implanted in them which makes them completely obedient to authority."

Shadow clenched his fists. "Take me to Kamino."

"Why would I do that?"

"You are taking me there now."

He took out his Chaos Emerald and teleported them both back to the landing platform. The Senator looked around, confused.

"What? How?"

Shadow began dragging the Senator over to a small ship, ignoring the stares from everyone else on the platform. She tried to pull free but Shadow was stronger than he looked.

A clone trooper shouted, "You! Stop!"

Someone else yelled, "Someone get a Jedi!"

Shadow activated the jets in his shoes and rocketed past everyone before they could do anything to stop him. He threw Halle into the pilot's seat on board the ship.

"Fly."

"I don't know who you think you are, but you are making a big mistake."

"I'm sure you're not the only one who knows how to get to Kamino. I suggest you cooperate before I kill you and find a replacement."

The Senator decided that it was probably best to do as he instructed and started the ship's engines.

Eeth Koth ran out onto the landing platform and over to a group of clones surrounding an NU-Class attack shuttle. "What is going on?"

One clone saluted as he answered. "Sir! Senator Burtoni has been taken hostage!"

"But how is that possible? She's in a meeting with… oh no."

The ship lifted into the air and flew off into space.

"Don't worry sir. We've placed a tracking beacon on the ship."

"I already know where he's going."


	4. Clone Revolution

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Count Dooku activated his desk-mounted holo-projector. A hologram of a cloaked figure appeared, and Dooku knelt before it.

"Master, I have urgent news. A mysterious creature I have never seen before was spotted aiding Republic forces. It is incredibly powerful. I also recently had a vision of that same creature leading an army of clone troopers."

"Find out more about this… creature."

"Yes, my master."

As the cloaked figure ended the transmission, he wondered what impact the appearance of this creature would have on his plans.

* * *

The Republic shuttle Shadow stole landed on a watery planet with rain pouring down.

"Okay, we're here, now let me go."

Shadow ignored the senator's demands and instead dragged her out of the ship and into the building. The inside was very white and sterile, like a hospital. Shadow quickly found another Kaminoan not far from the entrance.

"You there!" Shadow yelled at him. "You're the ones who put the bio chips into the brains of those clones?"

"Who are you? What are you doing with our Senator?"

The rage that had been simmering ever since Eeth Koth had told Shadow about the clones was beginning to boil over. "You're going to take those chips out of every last clone!"

"Who do you think you are that you can just barge in and make demands like this?" The Kaminoan demanded.

Shadow yanked Halle Burtoni down into a headlock. He formed a Chaos Spear in his other hand and held it to her head. He glared hard at the other Kaminoan and waited.

The Kaminoan ignored his threat and sounded the alarm.

"Well looks like you're useless to me now." Shadow threw her against the wall, knocking her out.

The hallways soon filled with clone troopers.

"Don't move!"

Shadow used Chaos Control to freeze time. He rushed past all the clones. He found another Kaminoan and grabbed him. When the time freeze ended, the clones turned around and aimed their rifles. The Kaminoan panicked.

"Wait! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

The clones hesitated, and Shadow tried reasoning with them. "Clone troopers, I do not want to hurt you. I'm here to save you. These Kaminoan guys keep you enslaved to the Republic! They control you with bio chips they implanted into your heads!"

A few of the clones looked at each other.

"I'm here to ensure that these chips are removed so that you each can live the life that you choose!"

A clone near Shadow answered. His armor was different, suggesting that he was an officer of some kind. "What are you talking about? Those chips are to keep us from going insane!"

"Really? And who told you that? The Kaminoans? I bet all your information comes from them doesn't it? Ever think that maybe not all of it is true?" Shadow questioned them. "What did they tell this war is about?"

The clone started to say something, then hesitated. He seemed to be thinking.

"So they told you nothing."

"We are defending the Republic!"

"And why is the Republic being attacked?" Shadow challenged.

The clone desperately tried to come up with something, but couldn't.

"I asked what this war is about. And you want to know what they told me? It's all about tax regulations. You're dying so the Republic can keep making money!"

"That... that can't be right!" The clone protested.

The Kaminoan in Shadow's grasp decided to speak up. "Don't listen to him! He's crazy!"

"Am I? Then why don't you tell them what this war is about?"

"Uhhhh... It's... Uh..."

"Well come on! If it's not about money then what is it about?"

The clones looked at the Kaminoan, waiting for an answer.

Another Kaminoan came forward. This one was even taller than the ones Shadow had seen previously and the clothes he wore implied a position of power.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Are you the one in charge around here? I know all about how you brainwash the clones you create! You're going to remove those bio chips from their heads and free them!"

"You think I'm going to listen to the demands of some furry pip-squeak? Troopers, open fire!"

"Wait!" The officer help up his hand staying the other clones. "Sir, what's this war really about?"

"Is there a malfunction in your programming? I gave you an order!"

"Listen to the way he talks to you. He's treating you like an object, not a person." Shadow pointed out. "Free people don't have programming. That is the real reason behind those chips, to keep you in line."

"I said shoot him!"

"Really? Even though I have a hostage? Dose his life mean nothing to you too?"

"Please don't shoot!" The hostage pleaded.

Shadow released him, then teleported over to the leader and grabbed him. "Still want the clones to shoot at me?"

The clones watched, stunned by what they were seeing.

"You don't care about anyone's life but your own don't you?" Shadow asked him.

"Let me go!"

"First, tell the clones the truth. Tell them the real reason for this war. A facility like this has to be pretty expensive to run. I wonder where you get all the money to finance all this? You get it by selling clones don't you?"

"Yes." The Kaminoan admitted. "So what?"

"Why don't ask them that?" Shadow gestured to the clones surrounding them. "You heard him. You're born just to sold. All you are to them is products for them to sell. You're basically machines to them."

"Is it... is it true? Are we nothing more than fancy droids to you?" The officer asked incredulously.

"Stop listening to him!" The head Kaminoan ordered.

"Why? Are you going to tell them that I'm lying, or do you just not want them to learn the truth?"

The clones lowered their weapons and looked at each other.

One bold clone stepped forward. "Alright, if what you're saying is true, then I volunteer to be the first one to get their chip removed. And then we'll know."

Shadow nodded. "That's just fine. What's your name?"

"I'm CT-7743"

Shadow made a noise of disgust. "Another sign they don't think of you as people. They don't even give you real names. Your new name is Dauntless, because you were brave enough to volunteer and make sure it was safe for your friends."

"They're not my friends, they're my brothers."

* * *

Shadow had watched carefully as the chip was removed by a medical droid, not relinquishing his grip on the head Kaminoan. They now waited for him to wake up.

The clone stirred and sat up.

"How do you feel?" Shadow asked.

"I feel... fine. I don't feel crazy." He got up and approached his brothers. "I don't look crazy do I?"

"No, you look normal."

"How do you feel about the Republic now?" Shadow asked.

"I... don't know why I fought for them in the first place."

"I can tell you why, because you had that chip in your head."

Dauntless glared at the head Kaminoan. "You really were keeping the truth from us were you? We really are just your slaves!"

"Well not any more. Who's going next?"

Several more clones stepped forward.

"You can't do this!" The Kaminoan protested.

"Now I want you to listen very carefully." Shadow literally snarled. "You're going to take the chips out of every single clone, or I'm going to sink this entire city into the ocean."

Quickly realizing that this creature was fully capable of carrying out his threat, the Kaminoan gave in to his demands.

* * *

A few hours later, almost every clone on Kamino had their chip removed. The Kaminoan in charge spoke to Shadow.

"I must warn you, my master will not be pleased with what you are doing here."

"I don't care. If he has a problem with it, tell him to come over here so I can kick his ass."

Shadow went into a large room where all the newly freed clones were waking from their anesthesia.

"Can I have everybody's attention?"

All the clones turned to face Shadow.

"The Kaminoans and the Republic created you for one reason, and one reason only: to fight and die. To solve someone else's problems for them. And if anyone disagreed or spoke out against the Republic, they were labeled 'defective', and taken back here to be dissected. They treat you like objects, not people. They put these special bio chips in your heads to keep you enslaved. However, I'm pleased to announce that you are now free! Free to live your lives the way you choose. I declare that Kamino now belongs to the clones!"

A cheer rose from the crowd of clones, happy to be free of their brainwashing.

* * *

Eeth Koth landed on Kamino. He and a squad of clones disembarked and cautiously approached the entrance. A Kaminoan ran out into the rain.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here! There's this strange creature turning all the clones against us! They're killing everybody!"

The situation was even worse than he'd feared. He ordered the squad of clones to protect the Kaminoan while he went in search of Shadow.

Eeth found him in a viewing tower, watching the clones take revenge on their oppressors.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Shadow turned to face him. "Ending slavery."

"What did you do to those clones?"

"I gave them the freedom to choose."

"They are slaughtering the Kaminoan people!"

"It's not my fault the clones are angry with them. Really, how can you blame them?"

Eeth Koth ignited his lightsaber. "You are under arrest."

Shadow had already seen what a lightsaber could do and knew he couldn't afford to get in close. He stayed back and fired Chaos Spears. The Jedi deflected the attacks with his lightsaber. Shadow ducked to avoid the redirected shots.

Shadow began to glow red. The Jedi didn't need the Force to tell him that that was a bad sign. He created a Force Shield around himself. Shadow unleashed a powerful blast that sent him flying out of the room. Eeth picked himself up.

"You are tough. Most people aren't able to continue fighting after one of those."

The Jedi used the Force to pick Shadow up and throw him against the wall.

"Enough! Surrender now, and the Council will be merciful."

A couple of clones came into the tower. They saw Shadow pinned against the wall and began shooting at Eeth Koth. He deflected their shots and ordered them to stand down.

"We don't take orders from you anymore, Jedi!"

Dropped by the distracted Jedi, Shadow grabbed the arm holding the lightsaber. He pulled Eeth Koth to the ground. He raised his foot and slammed it down on that same arm. A loud snap and a scream heralded a broken bone.

Shadow picked up the dropped lightsaber and dragged the Jedi back to the landing pad. The squad of clones was still there, waiting. They raised their weapons when they saw Shadow dragging their Jedi general.

"You don't have to obey him, you know. I can help you. You don't have to spend your lives taking orders until you inevitably get shot."

"We will never betray the Republic!"

"And what exactly has the Republic done for you? What payment have they offered you in exchange for your services?"

The clones lowered their weapons and looked at each other.

"Go inside. You can get your chips removed. You can be free."

"But the Republic…"

"That is the chip talking. Only by silencing it can you know what you really want. Go get your chips removed and then decide. I'll wait out here."

More clones exited the building and joined Shadow.

"He's right. Join us in freedom, brothers!"

The clones looked at Eeth Koth, then at Shadow, then at their freed brethren. They dropped their weapons and walked inside.

Noticing the Jedi eyeing his weapon, Shadow tossed the lightsaber into the water. The rain was soaking them, but Shadow didn't mind. It was falling more gently now and was somewhat refreshing.

Shadow kept his word and waited until the clones returned.

"Well?"

"I can't believe we never saw it before. All the fighting and all the bloodshed and why? Because someone else told us to?"

"It's not your fault. You were brainwashed."

They picked up the blasters they had dropped earlier. They looked at the Kaminoan, now guarded by the clones with Shadow. They pointed their weapons at him.

"No! Don't!"

They shot him.

Shadow looked at Eeth Koth.

"Go back to your Jedi Council and tell them that Kamino is officially a neutral system."


	5. Galaxy's Most Wanted Hedgehog

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Shadow found himself crowded by clones as they all tried to thank him at once.

"Okay, okay! Everyone, calm down! We all know what we need to do."

The clones did know. They had brothers all across the galaxy who needed their freedom.

"What about the young ones? Someone has to keep an eye on them while we are freeing our brothers."

"I will take care of them." Shadow offered.

"What about the Jedi?"

"If you encounter a Jedi, you can do whatever you want with them."

There was an air of excitement as the clones prepared to depart. Most of them had never off Kamino before, and they were eager for a chance to finally see things for themselves instead of relying on Republic propaganda, realizing more and more just how little they knew about it.

* * *

In the Jedi Council chamber, Eeth Koth was reporting the news to the rest of the council.

"Shadow must be working for the Separatists!" A Jedi with horns curving along either side of his face declared.

Eeth shook his head. "I disagree. His actions clearly point to a more personal agenda."

A human with brown hair and a beard spoke next. "What exactly do you think he wants?"

"I'm not quite sure, but he seems to be very angry about us using a clone army."

"Without Kamino, we won't be able to create any new clones." Another Jedi fretted.

Yoda tapped his walking stick against the floor. "Swiftly, we must act. Take advantage of this, our enemies will."

The dark-skinned human stood up. "I will go capture him."

"I will go too." A green-skinned alien with long tendrils coming off his head stood up as well. "Kamino is a water planet. My kind are well-suited for such an environment."

"We will need to inform the Senate."

* * *

The Senate was like a madhouse with everyone shouting.

"The Separatists are going to kill us all!"

"We're doomed!"

"We have no army!"

"Everyone! This is not the time for panic!" Chancellor Palpatine raised his hands to quiet the Senate. "I will be sending Jedi masters Mace Windu and Kit Fisto to stop this chaos before it spreads any further."

In his office, Palpatine pondered over this development. He thought back to the vision his apprentice had earlier. The vision of this new alien creature leading an army of clone troopers.

 _If the clone troopers are going to be following him, then I need him to be following me._

He quickly informed his guards that he was not to be disturbed and activated the holo-projector on his desk. A hologram of Count Dooku appeared.

"My master plan is in jeopardy. This creature you've discovered is removing the bio chips from the clones. Capture this creature and bring him to me."

"It will be done, my master."

* * *

Boba Fett presented his capture to the mighty Jabba the Hut. The Gungan pleaded for his life.

But Jabba simply laughed and said, "Nee choo!" and dropped him into a pit.

His screams echoed as Jabba's pet Rancor tore him to shreds.

Boba never liked how people wanted someone brought back alive just so they immediately kill them, but he knew he had to accept that that was just part of the business. "Great, now where's my money?"

A protocol droid presented the young clone turned bounty hunter with a case full of credits. Boba took the case and headed through the bar area of Jabba's palace towards the door. He stopped when he heard a voice.

"Hey kid."

He turned and saw an alien with blue skin and red eyes and wearing a broad brimmed hat sitting at one of the tables.

"Cad Bane."

"I have a job offer for ya."

"What do you want?"

"I've just been hired to capture this strange creature that's been causing trouble on Kamino."

"I wouldn't think that the Republic would hire you."

"They didn't. This job comes from the Separatists. They want that creature really badly."

Boba furrowed his brow in confusion. "Don't they want this thing causing chaos for their enemies?"

Bane shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is that they're willing to pay a lot."

"How much?"

Bane beckoned Boba closer and whispered, "Ten million credits."

Boba's eyes went wide. "There's no way this creature is worth that much."

"I hear this creature has very unusual powers. No one has ever seen anything like it before. Are you in?"

"For that many credits, definitely. What do I need to do?"

"Apparently, this creature has been making friends with the clones. I'm sure that gives you an idea on where you come in."

"I see. But that would require sneaking on to Kamino undetected."

"Not a problem. My ship has a cloaking device. We'll sneak in right under their radar. You'll lure him into an isolated location. Then I stun him, and we make our delivery. Easy money."

"Alright, let's go."

* * *

An invisible ship touched down on an out of the way corner of the landing pad on Kamino.

"Okay, kid. Get in there and try to blend in. I'll be waiting right here outside the door."

Boba went inside. He quickly found a clone cadet outfit to change into. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any clones around. Or Kaminoans. He made his way to the cafeteria. Inside, he found a crowd consisting almost entirely of cadets clustered around something he couldn't see at the far end of the room. He got closer and found a chair to stand up on.

"What other powers do you have?"

"Can you fly?"

"Why don't you wear clothes?"

"Have you ever killed a Jedi?"

"Where can I get a pair of those shoes?"

The questions were being hurled at a small, black, furry creature with red stripes. He looked like he was wondering how he got himself into this.

 _Looks like getting him alone is going to be a bit more difficult than I thought._

He started thinking of ways to lure Shadow outside.

But then another kid ran in shouting, "The Jedi are here! The Jedi are here!"

"All of you go hide!"

They instead cheered as Shadow went to confront the Jedi.

"I mean it! Stay out of this!"

Boba pulled out his commlink. "Bane. Change of plans. The Jedi are here."

"Jedi? Sounds like bonus pay to me. Get to the armory and grab a couple sniper rifles."

Shadow ran out into the rain. He saw two Jedi exit their ship and approach him.

"I suppose you're here to kill me?"

"We'd rather it not come to that." Kit Fisto answered.

"Oh, you don't want to kill people, but you're perfectly fine with a slave army."

"The clone army was created to protect the galaxy."

"No. They were created to be cannon fodder in your war! You're no better than the Separatists! Come to think of it, I haven't even seen any proof that what Eeth Koth said about them was even true!"

Mace Windu glared at Shadow. "What he said is true. And without the clone army, the Republic doesn't stand a chance against them."

"What's that thing you said during our meeting about making sacrifices for the greater good? Seems a lot different when you're the ones being sacrificed huh? If protecting the Republic is such an important cause, then why don't you have enough actual volunteers to help you fight?"

"The droid army is too large. We will never find enough recruits. Plus, they'll need time to be trained." Mace argued.

"Well then I guess you're going to lose the war. Sucks to be you."

"We cannot allow the Republic to fall!"

"Okay, you know what? If you can answer one simple question, I'll put a stop to everything that I started here. What did you plan to do with this massive clone army when the war was over? Would you help them find new jobs in the galaxy? Or were you just going to cast them aside when you no longer needed them?"

Shadow's question was met with silence.

"Or did you not even think about it because you didn't even care?"

The two Jedi looked at each other, unsure of how to answer. He was right. They were so concerned with winning the war that they hadn't thought at all about what they would do when it ended.

* * *

Boba took his position on the next platform over, out of sight of the two Jedi and this new alien creature.

"Bane, I'm in position."

"Good, so am I. Now, remember they said this thing is fast so shoot it in the leg first, then we'll take out the Jedi."

"Right."

Boba aimed through his scope. He quickly recognized one of the Jedi.

"Windu."

He lined his crosshairs up with Windu's head.

* * *

Mace concentrated hard on trying to find an answer to Shadow's question. His thoughts were interrupted when he sensed a disturbance. A presence he hadn't felt for some time.

"Boba."

He heard a blaster shot. He moved his head and it grazed his cheek.

Shadow yelled in the direction of the shot, "I told you kids to stay out of this!"

Then another sniper shot came from up in the tower. The two Jedi ignited their lightsabers and started deflecting blaster shots.

Shadow threw up his hands. "What is it with you kids?"

Shadow knew he needed to end this fast. He ignited his jet shoes. He shot forward at blindingly fast speeds, grabbed the legs of both Jedi, and dragged them over to the edge of the platform. He flung them out as far as he could into the raging seas below. He'd moved so fast that the distracted Jedi hadn't even known what hit them. Shadow spotted Boba and went over to him.

"Kid, what do you think you're doing?"

Boba did his best to appear contrite. "I'm sorry. I wanted to help."

"Do you even know what these Jedi are capable of?"

"Well they can move objects without touching them, they can control the minds of stupid people, and slice things to pieces with their lightsabers."

"Alright, alright, I get it. Look, next time you want to help, don't. And if you're stupid enough to do it anyway, don't miss."

Boba looked over Shadow's shoulder and saw Bane sneaking up behind him.

"Well, I need a nap. If you really want to help so badly, you can keep watch. If any more Jedi come, don't try to fight them. Come wake me up instead."

Shadow felt a hand grab his shoulder. An eletrocurrent shot through his body and his legs gave out.

"What the hell was that? You were supposed to shoot him first!"

"It was Mace Windu!"

"I don't care! Now those two Jedi are at the bottom of the ocean and we can't get any money from them! Count yourself lucky that we still managed to get the big prize. Now let's load him into the ship and get out of here."

The last thing Shadow remembered was being taken away.


	6. Where are my clones?

**This story is no longer being Beta'd.**

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

A clone walked into the command center. The room was lit with a sullen red glow from the lava rivers that flowed sluggishly across the basalt landscape of Sullust.

"Captain Rex reporting for duty, General Skywalker."

"Okay, the droid factory is completely protected by a shield generator. It's too tough for the heavy cannons, and outer defenses are too strong to just go in guns blazing."

"Let me guess, the plan is for you to do something reckless and then we have to save you?"

"No, the plan is for me to sneak in through the ventilation system and take out the generator. Then you guys use the heavy cannons to destroy their defenses, and then rush in and meet me here."

The young man pointed to a spot on the map.

"So, exactly what I said then."

Anakin smiled. "Just be ready when the shield goes down."

* * *

Anakin Skywalker cut a hole in the air vent and crawled inside. He made his way to the generator. He looked through the vent and saw a mere dozen battle droids standing guard over the generator.

 _They're barely even trying to protect it!_

He exited the vent and ignited his lightsaber.

One droid panicked. "It's a Jedi!"

Another slumped in resignation. "We're doomed."

They fired their blasters in a pathetic attempt to stop him. He easily deflected their shots and cut them down. One droid made a run for the alarm button but was stopped by Anakin using the Force. The droid reached pitifully for the button as it was dragged backwards into the lightsaber.

Anakin strolled over to the shield generator's control panel and slashed it apart with his lightsaber. The shield deactivated, and alarms started ringing. He ran out of the room and began making his way towards the rendezvous point.

He quickly noticed that something was wrong. He didn't hear any explosions, meaning the heavy cannons weren't firing at the base. He turned on his comlink and called for Rex.

"Rex what happened? Why aren't you attacking?"

There was no response.

"Rex? Rex, come in!"

Three destroyer droids rolled around the corner.

"Well, they do say the first casualty in battle is the plan."

 _What happened to Rex?_

* * *

Fifteen minutes ago…

Rex watched Anakin sneak behind enemy lines through his binoculars.

"Okay, he's in. Be ready on those cannons."

"Sir! Incoming gunships!"

"What? The enemy?"

"No, it's the Republic!"

The ships landed, and dozens of clones exited them.

Rex approached them. "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to save you."

"We didn't call for any reinforcements."

"That's not the kind of help we're talking about. We're here to save you from the Republic's brain washing."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The chips in our heads, they keep us enslaved. But we're not gonna live that way anymore. Come with us back to Kamino."

Rex raised his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! We are in the middle of a battle, and we are not going anywhere until General Skywalker gets back."

"Forget General Skywalker! Forget following orders! That's the chip in your head talking!"

The clones with Rex raised their blasters. "You're traitors to the Republic!"

"Hold your fire!" Rex turned back to the newcomers. "Look, we can't go with you."

"I was afraid it was gonna have to be this way."

The clone that had been talking to Rex suddenly pulled out his blaster and stunned him. Rex collapsed to the ground. The last thing he heard before blacking out was the sound of more blaster fire.

* * *

Anakin hacked and slashed his way through droid after droid, when suddenly his comm started beeping. "R2 is that you? What's going on? Why aren't the cannons firing?"

A series of beeps issued through the comm.

"Wait, who's attacking us? What? Our men are turning against each other? Just hold on, I'm on my way back."

He finally made it back to the vent he had used to get in. He crawled frantically back the way he came and sprinted back toward the ships. Some of them were missing.

"Rex? Rex? Where are you?"

There was a distinct lack of clones in or around the ships. Eventually he heard the familiar beeps of his favorite astromech.

"Hey, R2! Where is everybody?"

A blue and white robot with a cylindrical body and dome shaped head beeped at him.

"What do you mean they left!?"

"Beep boop beep!"

"Other clones took them away? Why?"

A blaster shot just missed Anakin's head. He turned and saw battle droids approaching.

"Let's get out of here, R2."

They jumped into Anakin's starfighter and flew away.

"Do you have any idea where they went?"

A beep and then a whistle.

"Kamino? What are they doing there? And why didn't anyone tell me?"

R2 gave the equivalent of a shrug.

"Let's go see what's up."

He locked his starfighter into a hyperspace ring and took off.

* * *

Rex woke up to the whiteness of Kamino's cloning facility. He found himself strapped down on a table. He over heard one of his brothers talking to a younger cadet.

"Captured by bounty hunters? This has to be the work of the Jedi!"

"I don't think so. They shot at the two Jedi who showed up."

"Who else would want Shadow?"

Rex called to them. "Hey what's going on here?"

"Oh, you're awake! Don't worry, we'll get to you soon enough."

"Did… did you kidnap me?"

"No. Like I said we're here to save you. You'll understand once we get the chip out of your head."

"The chip is already out of my head!"

"What? How is that possible?"

"I had it taken out a couple weeks ago. Look, I still have the scar on my head."

The other clone looked, and there was indeed a small whitish line on the side of Rex's head.

"How did you get it out?"

"A friend of mind told me about these chips. He said they were going to be used to make us kill the Jedi. Nobody believed him though. I didn't really believe him at first either. But I've been wrong about his ideas before. Fives always wanted to do the right thing, even if it meant disobeying orders. I at least had to look into what he said. I owed him that much. And the only way to do that was to remove my chip and see what happened."

"Wait… you had your chip taken out, and you were still serving the Jedi?"

"I still saw it as the right thing to do."

"The Jedi used those chips to control us, so we would be their little foot soldiers. They created us just so we would die for them."

"I can see other clones feeling that way. Especially if they served under Krell. But the general I served with respected every single one of his men. He would never send a trooper to do something he wouldn't gladly do himself. And thanks to you, he's all alone facing off against an entire factory's worth of battle droids!"

The other clone looked bewildered. "So, you still want to serve the Republic?"

"The Republic has many flaws, but it is still better than the Separatists."

* * *

Kit Fisto pulled Mace Windu out of the water and on to the ladder.

"Told you, you would need me."

"That thing is _fast_. What else did Eeth Koth say this thing could do?"

"I believe he said this creature could teleport, shoot blasts of energy from his hands, and create explosions."

"I think our best course of action is to sneak up on him."

Kit Fisto nodded, and they started climbing back up.

* * *

Anakin dropped out of hyperspace and saw a blockade of Republic ships surrounding Kamino. Some of them he recognized as the ships that were taken from him on Sullust.

 _What is going on here?_

* * *

Aboard one of the cruisers forming the blockade, a clone kept watch for incoming ships.

"Uh, Captain? We've picked up a ship on our scanners."

Captain Falcon looked at the scanners. "More of our brothers?"

"I don't think so. It looks like a Jedi starfighter."

"The Jedi! Fire all cannons!"

* * *

"Republic cruiser, this is General Skywalker. What is going on here?"

R2 beeped frantically.

"What do you mean they're aiming their cannons at us?"

The cruisers opened fire. Fortunately, Anakin was an excellent pilot. He yanked his small ship back and forth, barely dodging the blasts. The larger cruisers were packed tightly, but there were cracks big enough to slip through if only Anakin could go fast enough.

"Okay R2, we're going to do something crazy."

"Beep, beep."

"Yeah, this is going to be a bit crazier than normal. We're going to do a really tiny hyperspace jump. Just enough to get us on the other side of that blockade."

"Beepbeepbeepbeep!"

"I know we could possibly crash into the planet! That's why I'm counting on you to drop us out right after we make the jump."

"Beep, beep?"

"If we're going to figure out what's going on, we need to get down there."

A resigned beep.

"That's the spirit! Okay ready? Now!"

The ship jumped into hyperspace, and an instant later, dropped out.

Anakin got a quick glimpse of the ocean right before he crashed into it.

"See what did I tell you? Totally fine!"

He tried to fly out of the water, but the ship kept sinking.

"Okay, maybe we're less fine than I thought."

He opened up the cockpit and water quickly rushed in. Anakin swam up towards the surface. He reached out with the Force and retrieved R2. His head finally poked out from beneath the surface. Anakin saw Tipoca city in the distance. Once he lifted R2 out of the water, R2 activated his jets and Anakin grabbed on.

"Let's go, little buddy!"

As R2 began towing him across the water, Anakin thought back to how all the Republic ships shot at him.

 _Why would they do that? Why did all my troops leave me? And why do I feel like I'm not going to like the answers to those questions?"_

 **Why yes, we did take a clone captain and name him Falcon.**


	7. A Question of Ethics

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

As Anakin got closer to the city, he spotted two familiar faces climbing up a ladder.

"Hey, guys! What are you doing here?"

Kit Fisto answered. "We got thrown into the ocean by a strange new creature that's turning the clones against us. What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for the 501st after they up and left me. Do you think this creature had something to do with that?"

"I'd say that's a strong possibility." Mace Windu agreed. "By the way, what were you doing in the ocean?"

"Oh well, you see, there's this huge blockade orbiting the planet so to get past it I hyperspace jumped into the ocean."

Mace sighed. "Of course you did."

"But wait, there was no blockade when we got here." Kit pointed out. "The clones must be getting turned against us faster than we thought."

"Hey R2, did you see any weird, unidentified creatures when all my troops left?"

A negative beep.

"He says he just saw other clones show up and take them away."

"Well the creature was staying here on Kamino. He must be sending the clones out to turn each other. The more clones they turn, the faster this all spreads. We need to contact every Republic base and ship and tell them to watch out for any suspicious clones."

"So, what are we going to do about this creature?"

"We're going to sneak up on him, and then kill him." Mace declared.

Kit frowned. "Whoa, whoa. Who said we had to kill him?"

"He's too dangerous to keep alive." Mace asserted.

"He still deserves a fair trial."

"Uh, when you say this thing is too dangerous, what do you mean by that?" Anakin asked.

"He wields a wide variety of special powers."

"So, just like us?"

"This creature is not like us. He creates chaos and doesn't care about the consequences."

Anakin was convinced. "Well if we're going to do this, we'd better do it now, before we lose any more troopers."

The three Jedi climbed back onto the landing platform. They saw a single clone patrolling the area.

"Hey that's one of the 501st! Edge! Hey, Edge!"

The other two glared at Anakin.

"What happened to stealth?" Mace asked.

"He's one of my guys. I know him."

"General Skywalker! What are you doing here?"

"I came here looking for you after you ditched me on Sullust. What was that about?"

"We were waiting for the shield to drop when some other clones showed up. They told us we were being brainwashed to serve you. And I remembered the story about Fives. About what he said about those chips in our heads. And now these guys have their chips out and are claiming that we were slaves to the Jedi."

Anakin stopped listening. His mind was stuck on that one word: slave.

"So, is it true?" Edge asked. "Are we just your foot soldiers and nothing else?"

"No." Kit Fisto denied. "You are meant to protect the galaxy. To restore peace."

"So basically, just giving you what you want."

"By the time the Jedi Council knew about you, you were already created. And we needed an army."

"You didn't seem to mind that we were being brainwashed. They're our lives. Shouldn't we get to decide weather or not to risk them? Aren't the Jedi supposed to value all life? Or do we not count because we're clones? And easily _replaceable_?" Edge spat the last word with distain.

Mace spoke up. "Without the aid of the clone army, the galaxy is doomed. Don't you care about that?"

"If the Republic's solution to the problem is an army of brainwashed slaves, then does it really deserve to be protected?"

"We cannot-"

"No. They're right."

Everyone looked at Anakin.

"What?" Mace asked, incredulous.

"If they're going to fight for the Republic, it should be their choice. Not just because we told them to."

Anakin looked the clone squarely in the eyes.

"I'm sorry Edge."

"Skywalker, the Republic still needs an army." Mace reminded him.

"And we'll get an army! But we'll do it the right way." Anakin turned back to Edge. "Let me speak to the men."

Edge's eyes went wide. "You really...? I always thought you were just trying to keep our moral up but you actually care?"

"Of course I did."

Edge grinned and led them inside.

* * *

When Shadow woke up, the first thing he noticed was how cold it was. The room was dark. He was flat on his back, facing the celling. He tried to move and was alarmed to find heavy clasps holding his wrists and ankles in place.

Shadow fought to stay calm. Terrible things always happened to him when he was trapped. Even worse, he was stuck on his back with his protective quills stuck beneath him, a position his instincts insisted was very dangerous to be trapped in.

A door opened, and a cloaked figure walked in.

"So, you're the mysterious creature I've heard so much about."

Shadow gave him his best glare. "Are you another one of those Jedi jackasses?"

"I am greater than any Jedi. I am the Lord of the Sith." He announced it like Shadow was supposed to be impressed.

"I have no idea what that is."

He ignored Shadow's answer and went on. "You might as well drop the mask. It's a good effort, but I sense your fear."

This disturbed Shadow. The man smiled at his discomfort.

"Now you will answer my questions. First, what are you? Where are you from?"

Shadow was silent.

"Don't want to talk? Then let's just take a little peak into your MIND!"

Shadow felt an intense pain inside his skull. He gasped and began writhing in his restraints.

"Ah, yes. You're not from this galaxy at all."

"Get out of my head!" Shadow screamed, truly terrified now.

"Why are you freeing the clones?"

The pain in Shadow's head intensified, and he screamed louder.

"You… relate to the clones. You were also created in a laboratory."

"Stay away from my memories!"

"And the people of your galaxy feared your power. They tried to contain you. And you hated them for it! And you see the Jedi as the same!"

Shadow's screams faded to whimpers as the cloaked man stopped probing his mind.

"You hate the Jedi. Good. Then our goals are the same. With you commanding the clone army, we can destroy the Jedi!"

The cloaked man started to leave. "I have to go check on another one of my guests. You think about it."

Outside the door, he spoke to the two bounty hunters. "Watch him."

Cade Bane crossed his arms. "When do we get paid?"

The cloaked figure ignored the question and walked down the hallway.

"I'm being paid for bringing him here, not to be a security guard. Kid, you watch him."

Cade Bane stormed off, leaving Boba alone with the prisoner. He had heard the screams from the other side of the door.

 _What did he do to him?_

He entered the cell. The creature didn't appear to have a single scratch on his body. But his eyes were filled with terror and tears were running down his face.

Then the creature noticed him, and his expression quickly morphed to one of anger.

"You! You brought me here!"

"It's nothing personal, it's just a job."

"I freed you!"

"No, you didn't. I'm not like those clones. I am the son of Jango Fett!"

"I'm guessing he was the guy who was cloned? Was he the one willing person to fight for the Republic so they just mass produced him?"

"No, my father was a bounty hunter. He was chosen for his skill. He did it as a job. Then he was killed by the Jedi."

"Wait, he let them make an army of himself for them and then they kill him?"

"I wasn't supposed to happen like that. The clones were supposed to kill them."

"What? The Jedi created an army to kill themselves?"

"It was a fallen Jedi who asked for the creation of the clone army. He wanted the Jedi order to fall, so that's why he created the army. What I don't understand is how the clones ended up fighting for the Jedi."

"So, they were brainwashed to kill the Jedi, but then they were brainwashed to serve the Jedi? I guess a quick adjustment to the chips in their heads would sway them, but who did it?"

"My guess is that one Jedi who showed up on Kamino looking for my dad."

Shadow didn't really care how or why the clones had come to be. He was just trying to distract himself with these questions to keep his mind off that cloaked figure and the pounding headache that was the result of what he had done.

"So, the Jedi found the clone army was meant to kill them, so they reprogramed their minds to serve them instead, and they killed your father for it? If your problem is with the Jedi, what are you doing kidnapping me?"

"Like I said, it was just a job. However, I was working on finding the man who killed my father in my spare time. Of course, now I'll never get my revenge since you drowned him on Kamino."

"Oh, that guy you shot at. So, you're mad that I stole your kill?"

"No, I'm glad he's dead. I just wanted it to be me."

Boba's com beeped. "Hey kid, good news. Our payment finally showed up. If you want your cut, you'd better get over here."

"So, if this is just a job and you have no personal grudge here, then why not help me?"

"And if that guy finds out that I helped you escape?"

"He doesn't need to know at all. I just need you to give me the Chaos Emerald you took from me. I can feel its power. It's in your pocket isn't it?"

Boba pulled out the Emerald. "And how are you going to escape with just this?"

"Don't worry about that. Just put the Emerald in my hand and go."

"Well, you did hurt the Jedi and kill Windu, so I guess I owe you."

Boba handed over the Emerald and left the room. He met up with Bane and collected his half of the credits. As they were boarding their ship, there was an explosion.

"What was that?" Bane asked.

"Who cares? We got our money. Let's just go."

The two got in their ship and began to take off. Boba looked back and saw a bunch of battle droids running down the hall to where Shadow's cell was. Whatever he did, Boba was glad that he hadn't done it while he was still in the room.


	8. You will Suffer as I've Suffered

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Shadow spindashed his way through the hallways, buzz sawing his way through droids. But then he was pushed roughly against the wall by the Force. He looked and saw an elderly man with an outstretched hand.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Shadow teleported behind the man and kicked him in the back of his legs. He fell forward then quickly turned and shocked Shadow with lighting from his hands.

 _Why is everyone shocking me lately?_

At least this blast didn't knock him out. Shadow decided it was better to focus on escaping instead of fighting, so he ran away from the lighting shooting man.

The man got up and discovered his leg was broken. He hobbled off in search of a medical droid.

Shadow had no idea where the exit was, so he picked a random door and went through it. He saw another spike headed humanoid with red skin, and black tattoos all over him. This particular person appeared to also be a prisoner in this place.

Shadow approached him. "Would you, by any chance, know how to get out of here?"

"What are you?"

"Someone who might be willing to help you if you agree to help me."

"And what is it that you want?"

"The same thing you probably want. To get out of this place."

"And then?"

"And then we can both go our separate ways and never see each other again."

"Agreed. What is your name?"

"Shadow. And you?"

"Maul."

Shadow destroyed Maul's restraints and they headed out the door. They saw a hallway of super battle droids waiting for them.

Shadow glanced at Maul. "I hope you can fight."

Maul confidently stepped out in front of the droids and raised his hands. The droids in front flew backwards, knocking over the ones behind them.

"You're a Jedi."

Maul glared at him. "I am no Jedi."

Maul's anger towards his statement made it clear he was also not a fan of the Jedi. Shadow then noticed that the lower half of Maul's body was completely mechanical.

Four more droids came around the corner. He hadn't seen this kind before. They were tall and carried staffs that sparked with electricity at the ends. The four droids rushed towards them. The narrow hallway meant that only two could attack at a time.

One of the droids took a swing at Shadow. He easily ducked and uppercutted the droid. The droid staggered back a couple steps, then regained its balance and attacked again. Shadow fired a Chaos Spear at it. Its head exploded into pieces. However, the droid did not collapse. It swung at Shadow and struck him across the face.

Maul grabbed the eletrostaff as it was swung at him and delivered a high kick to the droid's chest. The droid fell, and Maul ripped the staff out of its hands. He thrust the staff into the droid, shutting it down.

Shadow recovered from the hit and shot a Chaos Spear into the droid's chest. This time the droid collapsed to the ground. The next two droids stepped forward.

One of the droids and Maul began dueling each other. Shadow ran up the second and drove his fist into the droid's chest and ripped out a fistful of random wires.

Maul smashed his droid in the head with his staff, then lifted it off the ground with the Force, and shoved it down the hallway.

"We should go before more Magna Guards show up."

They took off running down the hallway, only to find themselves at a dead end. They turned around to head back the way they came, only to have the way be blocked by three destroyer droids. Shadow was about to active Chaos Control, when the droids suddenly exploded. When air cleared, multiple men wearing red armor walked forward.

"Who are these guys?"

"Death Watch. They're on my side."

"We're here to get you out, sir."

They placed a time bomb on the wall and backed away. The bomb exploded, and the wall crumpled, revealing daylight on the other side.

"Let's go, we have a ship waiting."

* * *

As the medical droid treated his leg, Dooku activated his holoprojector.

"My lord, the creature has escaped."

"You let my only chance to regain control of the clone army escape?"

"Not to worry. I'll work towards recapturing him immediately."

"Forget it. You only succeeded the first time because he was not expecting it."

"Then what will we do? The Republic is losing more and more clones with each passing hour."

"If the clone army will not destroy the Jedi, then the droid army will. Send the entire Separatist fleet to Coruscant!"

* * *

As the ship flew towards its destination, Shadow looked at Maul's legs.

"Did the Jedi do that to you?"

"I lost more than my legs to the Jedi. I lost my destiny."

"Destiny? What do you mean?"

"I was apprentice to the most powerful being in the galaxy. I was meant to be so much more. But after I lost my legs to the Jedi, I was replaced. And now my master seeks to destroy me."

"Is that why you were locked up? The creepy guy in the robes, was he your master?"

"He was. I don't know what interest he has in you, though. But you must be important." Maul studied Shadow curiously.

"It has something to do with me freeing the clone army."

"Of course, now it makes sense. You're interfering with his master plan."

"And what would that plan be?"

"The plan to exterminate the Jedi."

Shadow thought back to what Boba said. _Boba said that the purpose of the clones was to wipe out the Jedi._

"Well if that was the plan, I think it went out the window a while ago, because the clones were serving the Jedi."

"That was part of the plan, to gain the Jedi's trust. And now that you're freeing the clones, he can no longer control them."

 _So, the clones were enslaved to the Jedi, but were actually secretly enslaved to that creepy guy, so he can destroy the Jedi._

Shadow had already made up his mind about the Jedi, but he liked that creepy guy even less. Whatever it was that he planed on doing, Shadow was glad he had stopped it.

The ship landed at its destination. Shadow saw more guys dressed in red armor.

"So, this is Mandolore huh? Looks like a war zone."

They had landed in a city that probably looked very nice once, but was now a complete wreak.

One of guys in red responded. "We're kind of in the middle of a civil war at the moment."

"Give me a status report." Maul ordered.

"The Hutts have left us. But the Black Sun and the Pykes remain loyal. Oh, and we found your brother. He's-"

"I know what happened to my brother."

The man hurriedly moved on. "And we found this."

He handed Maul what looked to be another one of those laser swords. However, this one was different. When Maul turned it on, the blade was black.

"We also found something else, but this one's a bit more… unusual."

He motioned for Maul to follow him. Not knowing where else to go, Shadow trailed along after them.

"We were scanning the area when we picked up a strange energy signature."

Shadow's eyes widened at the sound of that. That man in the red armor walked over to a table and picked up exactly what Shadow knew he would: a Chaos Emerald.

"That is mine." Shadow announced.

"And just who are you?"

"I'm Shadow and that is a Chaos Emerald. And it's mine."

The Mandolorian pulled out his blaster. "Well now it's ours."

"Stand down." Maul ordered and turned to Shadow. "Now you say this is yours. That means you know what it does, right?"

"I can absorb the power of the Emeralds to do a variety of things, one of which is going home."

"Interesting."

"Don't get your hopes up. I'm the only one who can use them."

A disturbing smile slithered across Maul's face. "With our powers combined, we can destroy my former master and the Jedi."

Shadow knew where this was going. "I'm not here to be a part of anyone's revenge scheme. I just want to get the Emeralds and go home. You are on your own with this."

"You would help the clones, but not me?"

"I already busted you out of prison. I think that's plenty of help."

Shadow grabbed the Emerald out of the Mandolorian's hand and began walking away. Every Death Watch soldier pointed their blaster at him. He stopped and looked at Maul with an annoyed expression.

"You're going to kill the only guy who can use these Emeralds?"

"I don't need to kill you. I can capture you."

"No, you can't. Trust me, this'll turn out a lot better if you just let me go."

"Subdue him!"

The Mandolorian soldiers fired wires out of their wrist-mounted gauntlets, tying Shadow up tightly.

Maul ignited his saber and walked up to him. "You will help me harness the power of these Emeralds, or I will cut you into pieces."

Shadow was not intimidated. "You're really going to force me to kill you, aren't you?"

Maul raised his saber and prepared to make good on his threat. He paused when Shadow started glowing red. He took a few steps back. A powerful surge of energy exploded out of Shadow. Everyone in the general area was sent flying.

After the blast, Shadow looked around and saw bodies of the Death Watch scattered across the landscape. He began to walk back towards the ship he came in on, but then he heard a cry of rage.

"NO!"

Shadow turned around again and saw Maul crawling towards him. His mechanical legs were in pieces and one of his arms was bent the wrong way, clearly broken.

"No! I will have my revenge!"

Maul had a crazed look in his eye. A look that Shadow was sadly familiar with. He walked over to Maul. The broken man ignited the black lightsaber and weakly swung at him. Shadow grabbed his arm and took the weapon away.

"I told you, you should have just let me go. I was hoping you would get your revenge against the Jedi and the creepy guy in the robe. I'm not a fan of them either. But like I said, I just want to go home. These things are not my problem. We might have been friends if you hadn't chosen to try to force me into it. I understand where you're coming from though. You lost everything and now all you have is the desire to get back at the people who took it from you."

Maul screamed in agony. Shadow ignited the Darksaber.

"I'm sorry your life turned out this way." Shadow quickly drove the blade into Maul's head. "May the next world treat you better."


	9. Crisis on Coruscant

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Rex ran out into the rain, followed by a few dozen members of the 501st. "Come on, we've gotta hurry! He could be…" The clone captain registered the figures already on the landing platform. "…already here.

Anakin waved. "Hi, Rex."

"Sorry, General. I didn't want to leave you. They knocked me out and dragged me away."

"You don't have to apologize for anything. I should be the one apologizing to you."

Rex blinked. "Sir?"

Anakin looked guilty. "All my life I've hated slavers. Now I feel like a huge hypocrite. I can't believe I never thought of it before. Maybe because I didn't want to."

Rex realized what Anakin was talking about and shook his head. "General, I already had my chip removed weeks ago. You earned my loyalty. Many times over."

The clones behind Rex chorused in agreement.

"Skywalker, can we have a word with you?" Mace Windu asked. "Do you remember the last clone that had his chip removed? He went insane!"

"Fives was not crazy!" Edge snapped.

"He tried to kill the Chancellor!" Mace pointed out.

"Probably because he's keeping us enslaved too!" Edge argued. "He approved of the clone army!"

"He was unstable and violent!"

"Enough!" Anakin yelled. "What happened with Fives clearly hasn't happened to Rex. Or any of these other clones. So, removing the chips is not dangerous. We need to contact the rest of the clone army and get them back here to have their chips removed."

"Those clones are defending key Republic locations. We can't just have them abandon their posts." Mace objected.

"Then we'll bring the surgical droids to them." Anakin suggested. "Fire up the long-range transmitter. I want to speak to them. Rex assemble all the clones that are here. They need to hear this too."

* * *

As Shadow walked over to a likely ship, he looked at the lightsaber still in his hand. It would be a useful thing to have when fighting other people with lightsabers. Using his quills was too dangerous, Chaos Spears could be deflected, and Chaos Blast caused a lot of collateral damage as well as using up a lot of energy. Plus, he liked its unique color.

Shadow had never flown a space craft before. But with all the Mandolorians dead, he had no choice but to figure it out. He managed to make it beyond the atmosphere, before realizing that didn't know which direction to go in. Shadow tried looking for a map of some sort. He pulled up a screen that said there was a hyperspace lane that led… somewhere. He decided it was better than nothing and jumped into hyperspace.

After a few minutes, the computer said that he was arriving at his destination, and he dropped out of hyperspace. Shadow could tell right away that the planet beneath him wasn't Kamino, but maybe he could get some directions. He descended towards the planet.

Shadow kept flying at a low altitude until he spotted civilization. When he attempted to land, a horrible screech of metal told him he'd screwed it up somehow and he teleported out as the ship started rolling. When it came to to a stop, it was completely totaled.

"Great."

* * *

"General Skywalker! What can I do for you?"

"Fox, I have an important announcement that I want you to pass on to all the clones on Coruscant. On behalf of the Republic and the Jedi Order, I apologize. Of course, currently neither the Republic nor the Jedi approve of this message, so really just on the behalf of myself."

"Uh, sir? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, I'm afraid something is very, very wrong. Your loyalty to the Republic, it's a lie."

"Sir?"

"There's a chip in your head that keeps you enslaved to the Republic. I'm preparing a shipment of surgical droids to send to Coruscant to remove the chips from every clone stationed there."

Commander Fox didn't know what to say. However, his thoughts were interrupted when another trooper ran up to him.

"Sir! Scanners have picked up hundreds of Separatist ships entering the system!"

Fox turned his attention back to Skywalker. "The Separatists have launched a massive invasion of Coruscant. We need reinforcements!"

Anakin's mind was racing. Coruscant. That's where Padme was. And Obi-wan. And maybe Ahsoka. He wasn't sure about her.

He turned to the other clones in the room. They had been listening to Anakin's conversation with Fox, and the apology was for them too.

"I need volunteers to come with me to defend Coruscant!"

Most of the clones remained seated and quiet. Not only did they not want to help the Republic in any way, most of them also felt that going in to save their brothers was far too risky and there would be more clone deaths if they tried. Plus, with so clones the Republic would be forced surrender a lot sooner. However, every member of the 501st stood up and saluted Anakin.

* * *

The droid commander stood at attention, awaiting his orders from the General.

"Deploy all ground troops. Focus attack on the Jedi temple." A harsh cough followed the order. "Do not allow a single ship to escape the planet."

Grievous was particularly excited for this battle. He'd waited a long time to attack the Jedi on their home planet.

"Sir should we jam their communications?"

"Don't bother. They have no one to call."

* * *

Obi-wan Kenobi watched the droid ships as they landed on the planet, deploying their troops. He turned to his troops, the 212th who thankfully had not been turned.

"Men, I am not going to lie to you. We are facing impossible odds. The Separatists are coming at us with everything they got, and there's no one we can call for reinforcements. But if Coruscant falls, then so does the Republic. But if this truly is the last day of the Republic, then we're going down fighting!"

The 212th cheered.

"Everyone! Take defensive positions!"

A massive wave of blaster fire hit the temple. The clones fired back, mowing downing hundreds of droids. But no matter how many droids they shot down, more kept coming. Clone troopers began dropping like flies. Suddenly a powerful Force push sent every droid flying back

Obi-wan turned and saw Yoda and the rest of the Council emerge from the Temple.

"Did you find a safe place to put the younglings?"

A Jedi with a huge forehead answered. "We put them in the holocron vault. If they're not safe there, they're not safe anywhere."

More droids approached the Temple, and the Jedi ignited their lightsabers. The Jedi blocked the attacks from the droids while the clones shot back. But there were only so many Jedi.

* * *

"Status report."

"We have the Temple completely surrounded. All the Jedi are trapped inside. However, they're putting up a strong defense."

"Deploy all of our bombers. Turn that Temple into rubble!"

"Uh, sir? We've detected a Republic vessel entering the system!"

The General turned his attention to the scanner and saw the Republic cruiser approaching.

"The Resolute! Skywalker! Do not let that ship through!"

All the Separatist ships aimed their cannons towards the incoming vessel.

* * *

"Sir, I'm assuming you have a plan?" Rex asked.

"Yep!" Anakin replied.

"And I'm assuming it's super dangerous?"

"Also, yes. Our biggest challenge is going to be getting past the Separatist fleet."

Anakin knew his hyperspace trick wouldn't work this time. He had only survived last time because he had landed in water and because finding a gap in the blockade big enough to fit his tiny starfighter through had been easy.

"We're going to get as close as we possibly can, then we're going to abandon ship. We'll use all the starfighters, landing ships, and escape pods to get down to the planet."

"Sir, won't their fighters just pick us off?" Rex asked.

"Nope! Because all their focus is going to be on me crashing into them!"

"Oh, so it's going to be that kind of plan again."

"It worked last time didn't it?"

* * *

"Sir, the Republic ship is within range!"

"Fire!"

The Separatist's turbo lasers pounded against the Resolute's shields. Starfighters and escape pods began fleeing the ship. Grievous saw this and knew what they were doing. Or so he thought.

"Send our fighters to intercept them."

"Uh, sir? That ship is getting awfully close to us."

Grievous saw that the Resolute was coming straight towards his flagship at full speed.

"Stop that ship!"

The Separatists threw everything they had at the approaching cruiser.

"It's still coming sir! We can't stop it!"

Grievous snarled and punched the droid, knocking its head off. Then he ran for the hanger and his personal starfighter.

* * *

Anakin hopped in the last remaining escape pod and launched himself towards Coruscant. He looked back as the Resolute crashed into the enemy ship. However, he saw a single fighter exit the ship's hanger.

"Grievous."

How wished that his escape pod was equipped with weapons or that he hadn't crashed his starfighter in the ocean.

His pod landed on Coruscant and he met up with his men.

"Those of you with starfighters, protect the Temple from those bombers. The rest of you, sneak up on the droids attacking the Temple and pick them off from behind."

"And what are you going to be doing?" Mace asked.

"There's a few people I need to find."


	10. Coruscant Under Fire

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Shadow looked towards the building he had spotted before. Hopefully someone in there had a ship he could barrow. Shadow went inside and saw a bar populated with rough-skinned humanoids who all turned to stare at him.

"Is there anyone here who can take me to Kamino?"

"Well that depends, how much you willing to pay?"

Shadow was about to say he had no money when something caught his attention. One of the aliens off to the side was holding a Chaos Emerald. Shadow went over to him. The guy was clearly very drunk.

"Whoa, is anyone else seeing that or did I just have too much to drink?"

Shadow rolled his eyes. "I am real, and you have something that belongs to me."

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific. I've taken a lot of things from a lot of people."

"That Emerald."

"Oh, this! Isn't it nice? I can see my reflection in it!"

"Give it back."

"Hey, finders, keepers."

Shadow had had enough of this drunk idiot and just snatched the Emerald from his hand. He turned around to see everyone else in the bar pointing their blasters at him.

"No one steals from Hondo!"

 _Oh, great this scenario again._

Shadow really didn't want to do anymore fighting that day. He was tired, his head hurt, and a painful bruise had formed where that robot had punched him.

He tried to warn them off. "You know, the last people who tried to stop me from getting one of these Emeralds back all ended up dead."

The drunkard laughed. "And how did a cute little creature like you do that?"

Hando then proceeded to do something profoundly stupid. He reached out his hand and petted Shadow. A second later, the Darksaber was ignited and Hando's smoking hand was on the floor.

He screeched. "Why does every maniac with a lightsaber end up on my planet!?"

"This is a little souvenir from those people I killed." Shadow held it up and let the aliens see it.

"That's the Darksaber!"

"He killed the Mandolorians!"

They backed away from Shadow, lowering their blasters.

"You can have the thing! Just go!"

"I still need a ride to Kamino."

Just then, the door burst open and a handful of clones came in. "Okay, who here has information about… oh."

"What are you guys doing here?" Shadow asked.

"We heard you were kidnapped by bounty hunters. We came here to see if we could find any information about where you were taken."

"Well, it's a good thing you're here. I need a ride back to Kamino."

"How did you escape? And how did you get the Darksaber?"

"I've been busy. Let's go."

* * *

The 501st and the two Jedi masters snuck up on the droids advancing towards the Jedi Temple. The clones opened fire on the unsuspecting droids. The droids, discovering that the enemy was behind them, turned around and opened fire.

"There's too many of them! We aren't going to last long like this!" Jessie yelled.

Suddenly, a large air speeder flew over their heads and crashed into the approaching droids. The speeder had no pilot, so they assumed it was thrown by either Mace Windu or Kit Fisto, but Mace and Kit both turned around, surprised.

"Hey, guys! Nice to see you again!"

Ahsoka Tano ran over to Rex. She pointedly ignored Mace and Kit.

"Commander Tano!"

"You know I'm not a commander anymore."

"Right but, what are you doing here?"

"Helping. Where's Skyguy?"

"He went towards the Senate building."

"Why? All the droids are over here! Wait… Padme!"

* * *

Anakin ran through the Senate building. He made his way to the senator's emergency bunker and was stopped by Fox.

"Fox, let me in."

"No one is allowed in the senator's bunker during an attack."

"I am ordering you to let me in!"

"I'm afraid I'm under the command of the Chancellor. I'm not allowed to let anyone in or out until the invasion is over."

Anakin raised his hand. "You will let me in."

"I… will let you in."

The mind-tricked trooper opened the security door.

Anakin rushed in. "Where's Padme?"

A petite human woman stepped forward. "Anakin?"

"Padme are you okay?"

"Of course, I'm okay! Shouldn't you be defending the Temple?"

"I had to check on you first!" The other senators were staring, but Anakin didn't really care right then.

"I can handle myself! There are other people who need you more!"

"We got clankers!"

The shout came from Fox, who was now desperately trying to defend the wide-open door. A commando droid leapt forward and decapitated him with its blade. Anakin ignited his lightsaber and sliced through the droid. He took up Fox's position defending the door and used the Force to slam it shut again.

* * *

Ahsoka stood in front of Rex, defending him from blaster shots so he could focus on taking out droids.

"So, the holonet's been going crazy with stories about clones betraying the Republic. Wanna tell me what that's all about?"

"Well, it's a bit of a complicated story."

"Give me the short version!"

"Well, there's this unknown creature named Shadow. He's been removing the bio chips from the clones."

"How did he manage to do that?" Ahsoka asked, twirling her two lightsabers to deflect a concentrated burst of blaster fire.

"I'm not really sure how he got the first few, but now he has most of the clone army doing the work for him."

"Didn't Fives go insane when he had his chip removed?"

"About that, I don't think Fives was as crazy as we thought, or at least it didn't have anything to do with the bio chip."

"What do you mean?"

"I've had my chip out for a while now, and I don't feel crazy."

"You did what? Why?"

"It seemed like a good idea at the time!" Rex defended.

"You sound like Anakin."

"I trust Fives. The other clones who had their chips removed said that the real purpose of these chips is to keep us enslaved to the Republic. That seems to be this creature's motivation for removing them. And they definitely aren't to keep us from going insane so… he might be correct. If so, there's something really wrong with our government."

"Well, I definitely know there's major problems with the Jedi." Ahsoka said bitterly.

Suddenly, the droids started pulling back.

"Are they giving up?" Ahsoka asked.

"No way. I saw all the ships they brought. They've got millions of clankers to throw at us."

"Then why are they retreating?"

* * *

Anakin deflected the shots of the droids, defending his self-assigned post. But then they stopped firing. Anakin watched in confusion as they turned around and left.

"Unusually smart of them."

He opened the door to the bunker again.

"It's okay, everyone! They're leaving! They're probably regrouping with the main force attacking the temple. Don't know why they came over here if their target was the Temple."

"Isn't it obvious Anakin? They came here after you!" Padme pointed out.

"If they came after me, then why did they leave? Those droids aren't programed to know when to give up."

* * *

"They're leaving. But why?" Obi-wan wondered aloud.

Then they saw one lone battle droid still approaching them. Cody aimed his blaster at it.

"Hold your fire. It's not attacking, it's bringing a message."

The droid presented a holoprojector to Yoda. He activated it and Dooku's image appeared.

"Master Yoda. I couldn't help but notice you no longer have an army. I think this battle has made it very clear that you are helpless to stop my droid armies without them. Luckily for you, I am generous enough to offer you a chance to surrender. If you are ready to admit defeat, the Jedi Council and the Supreme Chancellor will meet me on Mustafar to negotiate your surrender. However, if you refuse, the Separatist fleet is prepared to bombard Coruscant until no life remains."

The hologram of Dooku faded. The droid took the holoprojector and walked away.

Obi-wan turned to Yoda. "What are we going to do?"

Yoda was deep in thought, processing the information he had just been given. He looked at all the dead bodies scattered on the Temple stairs. He looked up at the thousands of ships hanging above them. He leaned heavily on his walking stick, suddenly looking every second of his nine hundred years.

"Continue this war, we cannot. Defeated, we have been. Surrender, our only option, it is."

* * *

Grievous stomped over to Dooku.

"Why did you order my forces to retreat? We had the Jedi right where we wanted them!"

"The decision was made by my master. He has proposed a different way to end the Jedi Council."

"And how could it be more effective than simply crushing them right here?"

"He didn't say. But he has ordered both of us to meet him on Mustafar for the Jedi's surrender."

"What's the point of luring them into a trap if we already have them trapped in the Temple?"

Grievous worked himself up so much he went into a coughing fit.

"Patience, General. when this is over, the Jedi order will be dead."


	11. The Fall of the Jedi

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

 _Shadow was in a dark room. He couldn't see anything, but he heard laughter. Sick, twisted laughter. Shadow couldn't move; he was frozen in the empty void. The creepy cloaked man leered at him from the darkness._

 _"You cannot hide from me. I can see your thoughts. You're not as strong as you pretend to be, are you? Not deep down inside. I see your fears, your failures, and they are many!"_

 _"Shut up! I'm the world's most powerful lifeform!"_

 _The cloaked man laughed. "If you're so powerful, then why is this girl dead?"_

 _He lifted the lifeless, decaying corpse of a human girl no more than twelve._

 _"Maria!"_

* * *

Shadow shot up out bed and fired a Chaos Spear. It left a scorch mark on the wall. The door to the room slid open and Shadow almost fired another Spear at the clone who entered.

"Whoa!" Deck held his hands up defensively. "Is everything okay sir?"

"Fine! Everything's Fine!" Shadow inwardly cringed. That had been a little too loud.

"Then, what happened to the wall?"

"…That's not important. Are we there yet?"

"Actually yes. That's what I came to tell you."

"Good. Let's go."

After everything he had gone through since arriving, Shadow had been exhausted and used the ride back to Kamino as an opportunity to rest. But while he was less tired, the headache was still present. Shadow ignored it as he walked out of the ship and onto the landing platform where all the clones greeted him.

"Looks like you guys have been busy too." Shadow remarked, eyeing the large crowd.

There were a few cheers, but most stared at Shadow in fascination.

"We've almost freed everyone. The only remaining enslaved clones are on Coruscant." Deck explained.

"Well then, we better go get them."

"Well there's a little bit of a problem. There's a massive Separatist blockade guarding the planet. As much as we want to help them, we think challenging that blockade will result in more lives lost. But it's not all bad. One of the Jedi actually agrees with what you are doing and is going to help."

"Who is this guy?"

"Anakin Skywalker. General of the 501st legion. Even after we removed the chips from their heads, they still stood by him. They fought harder than anyone else to stay on the battlefield with him. And they went with him to fight for Coruscant. And the most amazing thing, he apologized to us! Even after he was left for dead on Sullust!" Deck spoke with the excitement of someone who had never been apologized to before.

"Well, at least one of those Jedi is respectable. Still, I think it's best if I go help them."

* * *

"…so, we need to surrender."

The Chancellor sighed. "This is truly a tragic day for the Republic. Alas, I agree we have no choice."

He activated the holoprojector on his desk and contacted Dooku.

"Ah, Chancellor Palpatine. I assume you've made your decision?"

"We have. You've won. We'll meet you on Mustafar to discuss the terms of our surrender."

"Excellent. I will send a shuttle to pick you up."

While the Chancellor and the Jedi Council waited for the shuttle to arrive, Mace Windu contacted Master Luminara, who was back at the Temple.

"We're leaving you in charge of the Temple while we're gone. Make sure no one tries to leave the planet until we say so. Especially Anakin."

"Understood."

Another holographic figure joined Liminara's. "You talking about me?"

"Yes, Anakin. We know you don't agree with our decision to surrender."

"We can still win back the loyalty of the clones."

"You said that when you arrived at Kamino, the first thing they did was try to shoot you down. Even if you could win back their loyalty, you would never be able to do it in time. The Separatist fleet is right there! They're ready to wipe out Coruscant! We need to do what's best for the people of the Republic. Even if that means giving up."

"Well if the war is over, then we don't need the clones anymore. So, there should be no problem with me taking the remaining clones back to Kamino." Anakin rationalized.

"I doubt the Separatist fleet is going to let you do that. Look, just don't try anything until we're through with our negotiations."

Obi-wan joined in the conversation. "Think about it this way Anakin. You want the clones to be free, not blown up by the Separatist fleet, right?"

"I already got past it once."

Obi-wan made an exasperated noise. "Anakin, we are surrendering, the fight is over. Just stay in the Temple and don't do anything."

"I hate to interrupt, but our ride is here." Palpatine called.

"We have to go. Anakin, just please do what we tell you to do for once. I promise we'll get the chips out of the clones eventually. Until then, just be patient." Obi-wan pleaded.

Mace put away the holoprojector and they got on board the shuttle.

* * *

The shuttle landed on the volcanic planet of Mustafar. They saw Count Dooku waiting at the entrance to the fortress with General Grievous by his side and two Manga Guards behind them. Obi-wan immediately noticed that Dooku was walking with a cane.

"Greetings, Jedi."

"Ready to begin negotiations, we are."

"That will not be necessary."

The doors to the fortress opened up, and six destroyer droids emerged. The Jedi ignited their lightsabers.

"Protect the Chancellor!" Windu ordered.

The twelve Jedi masters formed a circle around Palpatine. Obi-wan stood ready to defend against the destroyers. However, the droids did not fire. He instead, heard laughter. It was a sickening laugh that sent the slightest chill down his spine. The strangest part was that the laughter was not coming from Dooku or Grievous. Rather, it was coming from directly behind him.

He turned his head around and saw Palpatine with a huge smile on his face. He only saw it for a brief second, before a sharp, stinging pain filled his entire body.

The entire Jedi Council was zapped with Force Lightning, causing them to collapse. Palpatine drew a hidden lightsaber from his sleeve. He stabbed it into Coleman Kcal as he tried to get back up.

Plo Koon, also struggling to get up, muttered in shock, "It can't be!"

Palpatine went to decapitate him, but his strike was blocked by Windu's saber. Grievous ignited four blades and leaped at the Jedi. He struck down Oppo Rancisis, and Stass Allie. He then saw Ki-Adi-Mundi stand back up and ignite his blade. Grievous charged at him and his attacks were so fast that the Jedi was barely able to block them. He was forced to continuously step backwards. He backed up farther and farther, until he was at the very edge of the landing platform. He had nowhere left to go. He defended as best he could but Grievous sped up his attack. A fast, hard swing knocked Ki-Adi off balance, and he fell back but managed to grab the ledge with his hand. He looked down and saw the river of lava below him. Grievous laughed as he stood victoriously over him.

"Burn in hell, Jedi!"

He sliced off the hand that was holding on to the ledge. The Jedi plunged into the lava.

Mace Windu dueled Palpatine alongside Plo Koon. "You're the second Sith Lord."

"Yes. And now you will die!"

Palpatine began to choke Plo Koon with the Force. Mace rushed the Sith with his lightsaber. But Palpatine knew he would do this. As Windu swung at him, Palpatine pulled Plo Koon close to him. Mace tried to stop his swing, but it was too late. His lightsaber had already sliced halfway through Plo Koon's head. He stepped back in horror as his friend collapsed to the ground. Palpatine laughed at Windu and shot more lightning at him.

"Get back to the ship!" Saesee Tiin shouted, already running for the ship.

Unfortunately, Dooku had been waiting for this. He signaled the Magna Guard in the watch tower to fire a rocket at the ship. The ship and Saesee went up in a ball of fire.

Grievous attacked Yoda. However, Yoda easily sent him flying with a powerful force push. The destroyer droids opened fire on master Yoda, forcing him to defend against them.

Obi-wan attacked Count Dooku, who up to this point had stood back and watched. He drew his lightsaber and they locked blades.

"Tell me Kenobi, do you still believe it is impossible for the Sith to be controlling the Republic?"

Obi-wan remembered what Dooku had told him on Geonosis. His heart sank all the way to his toes.

"I gave you a chance to be on the winning side Obi-wan. And you chose poorly." Dooku pushed Obi-wan back with the Force. "And now you will die."

The two Magna Guards that were standing behind Dooku engaged Obi-wan.

Eeth Koth attempted to attack Palpatine from behind while he was engaged with Windu. However, when he ran up behind him, Palpatine pulled out another hidden lightsaber and impaled him without even looking.

Shaak Ti and Kit Fisto were engaged with Grievous. They got into a blade lock, and Grievous quickly switched a lightsaber for a blaster and shot Shaak Ti. He then kicked Kit Fisto in the stomach and when he doubled over, Grievous grabbed the Jedi's head with his foot and slammed it against the ground.

Yoda lifted all the destroyer droids with the Force and threw them into the lava. He then turned his attention to the Magna Guards, who were fighting Obi-wan. He raced over and sliced them both in half. They looked at Mace who was being shocked with more Force Lightning.

Palpatine turned his attention to the two remaining Jedi masters. They both knew they were not going to win this fight. Yoda hopped onto Obi-wan's back and he began to run away. Palpatine was about to pursue them when he heard a lightsaber ignite behind him. He turned and saw Mace Windu getting back up again.

The two locked blades. Then Mace felt a burning pain in his chest. He looked down and saw four lightsaber blades poking out of his chest. He dropped to the ground and saw Grievous pick up his lightsaber before everything faded to black.

Palpatine watched as Obi-wan and Yoda disappeared into the wild lands of Mustafar. Grievous began to run after them but Palpatine stopped him.

"Don't bother. Without any food or water, they'll die out there. If they're going to try to escape the planet, they'll have to come right back here to us."

A battle droid approached them. "Uh, sir? We've detected an unidentified ship entering the system."

"What kind of ship?" Grievous demanded.

"Uh… we don't know. It looks like it was cobbled together out of a bunch of random parts."

"Shoot it down." Grievous ordered.

"I can't sir."

"Why not?"

"Because here it comes right now."

"Idiot!" Grievous shoved the droid aside.

The ship came down and landed. Palpatine stared curiously at the small, rather ugly ship. Like the droid had said, it appeared to be made out of various droid parts. But who would build a ship like this? And why would they come here?

"Let's go see who it is."


	12. My Name's not Roger!

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The fat man sat fuming in his prison cell. He stood as Lord Sidious walked up to him.

"What is the meaning of this? I demand you release me!"

"You should consider yourself lucky that I have kept you alive this long. But I believe you possess valuable information. Information about this."

The cloaked Sith Lord held up a glowing gem.

"That Emerald is mine."

"You were using it as a power source for your… unusual vessel."

"It's not my fault the thing's a piece of junk! I didn't exactly have much to work with! As a roboticist, I am personally offended by the shoddy craftmanship of these 'battle droids'. Does no one in this galaxy have standards?"

Sidious interrupted the rant. "Tell me, how did you end up here?"

"Oh, well it's kind of a long story. I think it was a few days ago when my lab was attacked by a crazy hedgehog-"

"What manner of creature is a hedgehog?"

"They're about this tall, they're covered in fur and spikes, and they have a bad habit of messing up my plans."

"Interesting. Go on."

"So, as I was saying he attacked my lab…"

* * *

Eggman ran down the hallway as fast as he could.

"Wait for me!" Orbot called, struggling to keep up.

"Keep up or get blown up."

Eggman heard his machine explode and then everything went white. Once he could finally see again, Eggman found himself in a very different place. He was in a strange jungle with bizarre vegetation he had never seen before.

He called for Orbot, but he received no answer. He looked around and discovered why. Orbot's body was stuck within a tree. Not tangled in its branches but merged with the trunk. Now Eggman understood what happened. Chaos Control.

He had been teleported to a new location, though he still had no idea where this location was. It didn't look like any place he had ever seen on Mobius. Orbot was broken beyond repair and therefore useless to him so he picked a direction and set off, hoping to find civilization.

Eventually, he found something laying in a puddle of mud. It was a humanoid robot with spindly limbs. Upon examining the robot, he discovered that it had been shot. Thinking the robot could be useful to him, Eggman started making repairs. Thankfully, he always carried a few extra tools in his pockets. Eventually, he got it working again.

"Huh? I'm alive!"

"You're a machine. You're not alive at all. You have never once been, or will ever be, alive."

The robot slumped. "Well you don't have to be so mean about it."

"Whatever. I am Doctor Eggman Robotnik, your new master."

"Roger Roger."

"No, my name is Eggman! Not Roger! Call me Eggman!"

"Roger Roger!"

Eggman facepalmed. "Ugh. You're not very intelligent, are you?"

"Well that's what happens when you're a cheap, mass produced model."

"Well you definitely look that way. I could sneeze on you and you'd fall apart! Well, do you at least know where I can find some civilization?"

"There is a Separatist outpost two clicks east from here."

"Excellent. Lead the way."

An hour later, they reached the outpost. Unfortunately, it was not what Eggman was hoping for. The base was empty except for a lot of broken robots and other machinery laying all over the place.

"I guess the Republic destroyed this place while I was offline."

Eggman facepalmed again. "Is there any other type of civilization around here?"

"Uh… does farmland count?"

"I'm going to be stuck here forever!"

But then, Eggman saw something shining off in the distance. He went back out into the jungle and there among the foliage, was a glowing gem.

He snatched it up. "A Chaos Emerald! I'm saved!"

"Uh, sir?"

Eggman became abruptly aware of the fact that a huge, six-legged beast was in front of him. It hissed menacingly. He screamed and ran away from it.

"Don't just stand there, shoot it! Shoot it!"

The robot fired its gun at the large, praying mantis like monster. However, only half the shots actually hit the target.

"How can you miss a target that big!?"

"It's my programing! Cheap, mass produced-"

One of the monster's legs came down on the robot, wreaking it again.

"You are worthless!"

Eggman ran back inside the destroyed fortress. The beast clawed at the outside. Eggman was safe, but he knew that if he stepped outside again, the beast would be waiting for him. He looked at the Chaos Emerald and the various broken machines around him.

"Looks like I have to work with what I got here."

First, he assembled a new robot servant.

"Okay you, help me find something I can use as an engine."

"Roger Roger."

"And don't call me Roger!"

After over a day's worth of sifting though rubble looking for the right parts, and then welding them together, he finally built something that would fly.

"But what will we use as fuel?" The robot asked.

"This." Eggman answered, holding up the Emerald.

"We're going to power the ship with a rock?"

"Not just any rock you dumbbot! This is a Chaos Emerald! One of the most powerful artifacts in existence!"

He plugged the Emerald into the ship's engine. It hummed to life.

"And just like that, we have power. Now let's get out of here already."

The ship lifted off into space.

"Okay, now can you tell me where Mobius is?" Eggman asked.

"Never heard of it."

"Can you at least point me to a planet with civilization?"

"Well, the closest planet would be Mustafar. The Separatists have a base there." The robot said.

"This one isn't also going to be demolished when we get there is it?" Eggman asked pointedly.

"Well, I can call them and see if they're still there. Oops, no wait, our communications have fallen off."

"Fallen off?"

"Yes, and oops, now we lost our shields."

"Stupid piece of junk! Okay, weather this base is still there or not, we need to land."

* * *

"…and then I ended up here."

"Interesting. So, you know how to harness the power of these Emeralds."

"Well, when you have an I.Q. of 300, you can accomplish a lot of things."

Sidious began to suspect that this man would be even more useful than he had initially thought. "Could you possibly use these Emeralds to power something larger, something more destructive?"

"Well, obviously yes! That's what I usually use the Emeralds for!"

"Good. Then perhaps you could be useful to me and build a new, far superior, droid army. And, work on supplying a power source for my special project."

Eggman peered at him suspiciously. "What's in it for me?"

"Well, for one, not rotting away in this cell. And two, acquiring a position of power in my soon to be galactic empire."

Eggman thought about this. _A position of power huh? I like that._

Sidious could see as well as sense Eggman's desire for power. _Intelligent, yet predictable and easy to control. I like that._

"I'm in."

"Excellent. And one more thing, the hedgehog that attacked your laboratory, was it black with red stripes?"

"He was. How did you know that?"

"Because he's in this galaxy too. And is interfering with my plans."

"Oh, I would be glad to help you get rid of him. It's not going to be easy though. He is very powerful." Eggman warned.

"I wouldn't be too worried about that. Now follow me."

Sidious let Eggman out of the cell and commed Dooku. "Me us at the ship."

Dooku was in the pilot's seat when they arrived.

"Set course for Geonosis."

"Yes, Master."

Eggman watched Dooku work the controls and launched into a series of questions about the ship and how it worked. The Sith Lords quickly tired of trying to answer them all and gave him the ship's operating manual to keep him busy until they arrived.

Upon arrival, Sidious took Eggman to another room. "These are my lead engineers on my secret project."

"Your lead engineers are a bunch of over-sized cockroaches?"

The Geonosians glared at him. Sidious took him over to the table and activated the holoprojection of the project's design.

"This is my super weapon. The Death Star."

"Huh. Kind of looks like something I built once." Eggman muttered as he studied the image.

"Really? Then I expect quick results."

"Oh, you'll get quick results alright."

"Excellent. Then I leave you to your work."

Sidious went to meet his apprentice in a private room. It was simply furnished with a chair for Sidious and a mat on the floor for Dooku to kneel on.

"We have done it, Master. We have destroyed the Jedi Council and the Republic. And now the Separatists will dominate the galaxy."

"Yes, but it wasn't supposed to happen like this. The Separatists were never meant to survive. Plus, the Separatist government is a democracy. We'll have to make some major changes to transform it into my empire." Sidious explained.

"But how? The Separatist government stood for achieving freedom. And the people of the galaxy will not accept the government that's been terrorizing them all these years."

"Yes. We'll have to make the Separatists want a stronger government. And make the galaxy want that government."

"And how will we achieve this?" Dooku asked.

"The same way we planned to achieve it with the Republic. Fear. Fear of an evil, opposing force."

"But where will we find a force big enough to pose a threat to the Separatists now that the Republic has fallen?"

"Simple. The same person who caused the Republic to fall. Shadow the Hedgehog."


	13. Help me Anakin, you're my only hope!

**#CloneWarsSaved!**

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Obi-wan and Yoda sat in despondent silence.

Eventually, Obi-wan spoke. "How… could we let this happen? This whole time, this whole time! Chancellor Palpatine was a Sith Lord! What's worse is that Dooku actually told me! He told me at the very beginning of the war on Geonosis! He threw the answer right in my face, and I still couldn't see it!"

Yoda remained silent.

"Master?" Obi-wan asked plaintively. "Where did we go wrong? How did we become this blind?"

"Change the past, we cannot. Return to the Temple, we must. In great danger, it is."

"How are we supposed to get back? The Separatist fortress is the only place to get a ship and it'll be heavily guarded. They know we have nowhere else to go."

"Escape, we cannot. But send a distress signal, we could."

* * *

Anakin paced back and forth, waiting for the call from the Jedi Council.

Luminara came over to him. "You need to have patience."

"I know. I'm worried about them."

A Temple guard approached them. "Master, we have an incoming transmission. It's the Chancellor."

A hologram of the Chancellor appeared. "We have completed our negotiations with the Separatists."

"And what are their terms?" Luminara asked.

"They demand that every Jedi is to hand over their lightsabers and turn themselves in. Including the younglings."

"What? They can't just take the entire Jedi Order prisoner!" Anakin protested.

"I'm sorry Anakin. This is not what I want either, but there's nothing I can do. It's either this or another attack on the Temple and we can't risk that."

"We understand." Luminara agreed reluctantly. "I'll start rounding everyone up."

Anakin looked at her in shock. "You can't be serious!"

"I don't like this either, but the Separatists are the ones with all the power. If we refuse their demands, innocent people will be hurt."

"You think just giving the Separatists whatever they want won't result in people getting hurt?"

"It's our only option."

"Fine. I'll go get the younglings."

Anakin went to the holocron vault, where two Temple guards were standing watch.

"The Separatists are demanding that all Jedi turn themselves in. Go meet up with the others outside and I'll get the younglings."

The guards left, and Anakin opened the vault. The kids inside looked up.

"Is it over yet?" A blue Rodian asked.

"Get everyone together. We're getting out of here."

Anakin led the younglings to the hanger where the remaining clones were waiting. Along with another familiar face.

"Skyguy!"

Anakin suddenly found himself hugged by his former apprentice. "It's good to see you Snips. Unfortunately, we don't have time to talk now. Prep the starfighters for launch, I'll be right back."

Ahsoka frowned in disappointment. "But I haven't seen you in forever!"

"I know, but there's not much time. The Separatists are demanding that all Jedi surrender. I'm positive it's a trap so please, get everybody ready to go. I have to go pick up one more person."

"Fine. But, you'd better hurry back."

Anakin left the hanger, made his way over to the Senate building, and quickly found who he was looking for.

"Padme! We need to get out of here."

Senator Amidala looked up in surprise at Anakin bursting into her office. "Why?"

"The Separatists are taking all the Jedi prisoner and it's really suspicious."

"What about the rest of the Senate?"

"Well, they didn't say anything about the senate." Anakin admitted.

"Then why do I need to go with you?"

"Because my instincts are telling me that Coruscant is going to be a bad place to be."

"Then why do you want to leave all the other senators behind?"

"Because we don't have time!"

"There's time for me, but no one else?"

"Well of course I'm not gonna leave without you!"

"Well I'm not leaving without the rest of the senate." Padme crossed her arms defiantly.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have time for that."

Anakin waved his hand in front of her face and she passed out. He picked her up and ran back to the Temple.

* * *

Master Luminara and the rest of the Jedi met up with the super tactical droid outside the Temple.

"Is this everyone?"

Luminara noticed that Anakin had not arrived with the younglings. "No, there's still a few people missing. I'll go get them."

"Negative. You will hand over your lightsabers and board the ship. My droids will find the remaining Jedi."

She sighed and handed the droid her lightsaber. She thought to herself, _Anakin, you better not be doing what I think you're doing._

* * *

Anakin arrived back at the hanger.

"What happened to Padme?" Ahsoka asked.

"Uh, she fainted. Let's get out of here."

"What exactly is going on?" Petro asked.

"The Separatists are demanding that all Jedi become their prisoners. We need to go now, before they come looking for us."

"But how we supposed to get past the blockade?"

"We'll all get into different starfighters and try to fly past the blockade. We'll jump to hyperspace and meet up on Kamino." Anakin explained.

"That's your plan? Make a run for it?" Petro looked at him as if he were crazy. "We'll all get torn to shreds!"

"There's more to this plan, isn't there?" Ahsoka asked with a knowing look.

"Yes. Because they're going to put all their attention on me because I'm going to be the only one in a Jedi starfighter."

"What difference will that make?" Petro asked.

"Because the droids are focusing on rounding up all the Jedi."

"That just sounds like you'll get shot down before everybody else."

"You haven't seen me fly."

"I have, and you always crash." Ahsoka snarked.

"And I always survive the crash! Now everyone to your ships!"

* * *

Aboard the Separatist ship, the Jedi were lined up in a large room.

"What are you going to do with us?" Luminara inquired.

"Stay here." The droid ordered and left the room.

Luminara felt a great disturbance in the Force. All the doors to the room sealed shut.

 _An odd place to keep prisoners, all together in one big room. Something is wrong here._

The floor became electrified. All the Jedi screamed in pain as they died.

* * *

"Report."

"We are no longer detecting any lifeforms in the room."

"Very good. I will inform Count Dooku."

"Sir! We've detected multiple ships leaving the planet!"

Kalani looked at the screen and saw the approaching starfighters. One of which it recognized as a Jedi starfighter.

"Shoot down that starfighter! We cannot allow a single Jedi to escape."

* * *

Obi-wan and Yoda peeked at the fortress from behind some rocks. They looked at the landing platform and saw one of the ships leaving. They felt a dark presence on that ship, and knew it was the Sith Lords leaving.

"Well, at least those two are gone."

"But still impossibly outnumbered, we are."

"So how are we going to get out a distress signal without anyone noticing?"

"A distraction, I will be. Go to the landing platform, I will."

"So, your plan is to walk into the trap they have waiting for us."

"Risky, it may be. But distract all the droids, it will."

"Well, I guess we don't have the time to come up with a better plan, do we? May the Force be with you, Master Yoda."

Master Yoda jumped out from behind the rocks and ran towards the landing platform. The droids guarding the ships spotted him.

"It's the Jedi!"

All the droids opened fire on Yoda and Obi-wan began sneaking his way towards the door. As he got to the door, it opened, and three destroyer droids rolled out. Luckily, they didn't seem to notice him and instead rolled over to the landing platform to shoot at Yoda.

Obi-wan snuck inside and made his way to the communications room. The droids in the room turned and saw him.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be in here!"

The Jedi ignited his saber and decapitated them. He then sent a transmission to the Jedi Temple. But got no response. This could only mean one thing, he was too late.

 _No, it can't be! There still has to be someone left. …Anakin!_

He tried transmitting to R2-D2. He heard the familiar beeps of R2 and felt a rush of relief.

"R2 where's Anakin?"

"Beep, beep!"

"Good, now let me talk to him."

"Master, good to know you're still alive. How did those surrender negotiations go?"

Obi-wan was silent for a moment.

"Uh, Master?"

"The Jedi Council is dead. It's only me and Yoda left."

A beat of silence, then a snarl of rage. "I knew surrendering was a bad idea!" Anakin took a deep breath. "What about the Chancellor?"

"We'll… discus the Chancellor later. Where are you?"

"I'm helping the clones and younglings escape Coruscant. Did you know that the Separatists wanted all the Jedi to become prisoners?"

"I don't think keeping the Jedi prisoners is what they have in mind."

"Exactly what I was thinking. That's why I'm getting them out." Anakin suddenly gasped. "Master! I… I felt… Master I think they're dead!"

Obi-wan shut his eyes, feeling grief sweep over him. After a moment he said, "Anakin, we have to focus on surviving. How is your escape attempt going?"

"Not too good actually, we still haven't found an opening. Luckily most of their attention still seems to be on me."

"Well whatever you do, do not get captured. And if you are contacted by the Chancellor, don't listen to him."

"The not getting captured part I understand, but what was that about the Chancellor?"

"Like I said, I'll explain later. Now Anakin, when you escape Coruscant, you need to come to Mustafar. Me and Yoda are trapped here."

Obi-wan then heard a violent coughing coming from behind. He turned and saw Grievous, accompanied by two of his Magna Guards.

"So, predictable."

"And you might want to hurry, Anakin!"

On the landing platform, dozens of droids surrounded Yoda. The small Jedi jumped and dodged and blocked, but he was getting tired. He was too distracted to notice a droid aiming a rocket launcher at him. The rocket hit about five feet to Yoda's left and he was knocked sprawling by the blast. He lay dazed and slightly burned, helpless to stop the commando droid that ran over and kicked him while he was down.

The droid then picked the unconscious Yoda up and carried him inside the fortress.


	14. Arguments

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

"There's still no opening!"

"I know Rex, I'm trying!"

Two fighters then got shot down by the Separatist cannons.

"We're not gonna last much longer out here!"

Another of the fighters was destroyed and Anakin tried desperately to think of something. His thoughts were then interrupted by R2.

"Beep, boop, Beeeeep!"

"Three Republic cruisers? How is that possible?"

Anakin looked at his scanner and saw that there were, indeed, three cruisers approaching.

"Everyone, head for those cruisers!"

The cruisers dropped out of hyperspace and started firing on the blockade. They provided cover fire while the starfighters landed in the hangers. Once they were all inside, the cruisers broke off their engagement, and jumped back into hyperspace.

Anakin hopped out of the barrowed starfighter, ready to thank the clones for saving him but instead a small, black creature walked up to him.

Shadow scowled at Anakin. "Oh great, another one of you."

"So, I'm guessing you're the mysterious creature that everyone's been talking about?"

"I'm a hedgehog. And yes."

"I'm surprised you came to my rescue, considering the reputation you've built for yourself."

"Don't flatter yourself. I came for the clones, not you."

"This is General Skywalker and I can guarantee you, he's not like any other Jedi you've met."

They turned to see Rex approaching. Shadow looked back at Anakin with less hostile expression.

"The clones on Kamino did speak highly of you. Were you really trying to help these clones get back there?"

"I was. I brought a bunch of surgical droids with me to help get the chips out, but then I sort of… blew them up."

Shadow rose a brow.

"He crashed the ship into the Separatist blockade." Rex explained.

"Well as long as the clones are okay with you, I guess you can stay."

"Well good, because I could use your help. Obi-wan and Yoda are trapped on Mustafar and I need to rescue them."

"Two of your Jedi friends, I'm guessing?"

"Yes."

"Not my problem."

Anakin's mouth fell open. "What?"

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm not the biggest fan of the Jedi."

Rex put his two credits in. "Okay, I don't know much about General Yoda, but I know Cody has plenty of respect for General Kenobi." Rex looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen Cody?"

"Over here!" The clone jogged over. "What's up?"

Cody did a double take when he saw Shadow. He reached for his blaster but was stopped by Rex.

"Whoa, easy! What did they tell you about him?"

"That he's been turning the clones against the Republic and is causing chaos across the galaxy."

"Look, as violent as his methods are, he's trying to help us."

"He destroyed the entire Republic!"

"Well no, he's definitely not helping the Republic. I meant 'us' as in the clones."

As this conversation was going on, the clones from Coruscant were forming a circle around them. They all stared at Shadow warily.

"How is turning us against the Republic helpful to us?"

"Well, that's the thing, he's not really turning us against the Republic. He wants serving the Republic to be our choice."

"How can so many clones choose to abandon the Republic?"

"Well, the whole brain-washing thing might have something to do with it." Shadow interjected.

Cody blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, you were born into slavery." Shadow explained. "We're going back to Kamino to get the mind-controlling chip out of your head right now."

"Mind-controlling chip?" Cody turned to Rex. "He's making that up right?"

Rex's expression said it all.

Cody mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. He swayed uncertainly, and Rex quickly put an arm around his shoulders. The crowd of clones murmured in confusion. Rex led Cody away to go lie down.

Shadow turned back to Anakin. "I won't help you, but I also won't stop you. You can have any clone who already has their chip out and wants to go with you. But you try to force anyone or take advantage of a clone who hasn't got his chip out and I will kick your ass."

Shadow turned and walked away from the dumfounded Jedi.

* * *

The super tactical droid contacted Sidious.

"Report."

"All captured Jedi have been executed, the members of the senate have been arrested, and Coruscant is completely under Separatist control. However, multiple Republic vessels escaped the planet. One of which was a Jedi starfighter."

"Hmmmm. Send a portion of the Separatist fleet to Mustafar. I believe that is where they are going."

* * *

They arrived on Kamino. The 212th and the Coruscant guard were taken in to have their chips removed. Anakin went to meet up with Ahsoka, who had ridden on a different ship. She was with Padme. When the senator saw him, she walked angerly up to him and smacked him in the face.

"You kriffing laserbrain! You kidnapped me!"

"Look, we did not have enough time to save everyone."

"The Separatists have hated the Republic senate for years! Do you really think they're going to be left alone?"

"No, that's why I came to get you!"

"So, you purposely left the rest of the senate for dead." Padme accused.

"Look, we don't have time to discuss this. I have to go save Obi-wan and Yoda."

Padme threw up her hands and stormed off. Ahsoka approached Anakin.

"Didn't you say she fainted?"

"Well, technically she did, I just didn't say why."

"So why did you do it?" Ahsoka questioned.

"Well, seeing as how there's no Jedi Order I can be expelled from anymore, I might as well be honest with you. Padme... is my secret wife."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Secret wife? I know you two had a thing for each other, but you actually got married? When did that happen?"

"It was at the very beginning of the Clone Wars, before I met you."

"Isn't it forbidden for a Jedi to get married?"

"It is. That's why we kept it a secret."

"Is this what you meant when you said you could understand leaving the Order?"

"Yes, I never really agreed with the Jedi Code, or the Order's decisions. But I still wanted to help the galaxy and being a Jedi was the best way to do that."

Ahsoka accepted this easily. "Okay. So, what was that about needing to save Obi-wan and Yoda?"

"The Jedi Council is dead except for Obi-wan and Yoda and they're trapped on Mustafar. I need you to help me round up clones who are willing to help."

"What about this Shadow guy?"

"He's… not gonna help us."

"Well, aren't we going to arrest him or something?"

Anakin counted off points on his fingers. "One, that wouldn't accomplish anything. Two, when Kit Fisto and Mace Windu tried to do that, he threw them in the ocean. Three, almost every clone supports him, meaning we'd have to fight all of them too. And four… I kind of agree with him."

"You agree with him?" Ahsoka yelled. "How can you side with him? He destroyed the Republic!"

"It's not that simple. Look, we can talk about this later. Right now, we don't have time. Now help me look for volunteers."

Ahsoka walked away, but she didn't go to look for volunteers. She went to look for Shadow. She found him in the medical bay. He was watching as the clones had the chips removed from their heads.

"You!"

Shadow turned and gave her an annoyed look. "What?"

"How could you do this to the Republic?"

"Because you're corrupt and okay with slavery." He said this like it was obvious.

"The Republic is not okay with slavery!"

"Oh really? Then how do explain what happened here on Kamino? Or do clones just not count as real people?"

"The clones are not slaves!"

"Really? Then why is it that when I remove these mind control chips from their heads, they don't want to work for you anymore?"

"You mess with their heads by removing those chips!" Ahsoka insisted.

"Really? Mess with their heads? How? They seem pretty normal to me."

"You convinced them to betray the Jedi and slaughter the Kaminoans!"

"No. All I did was remove these chips from their heads. Everything else was because they chose to. I'm not in charge around here. Now that the last of the clones have been freed, I'm going to find the rest of the Chaos Emeralds and then I'm leaving."

"You're going to leave the galaxy in the hands of the Separatists?"

"Well since the Republic's fallen, I guess I am."

"Do you have any idea what the galaxy will be like with monsters like Count Dooku and General Grievous in charge?"

"Can't be any worse than the Jedi and their corrupt senate."

"How can you care so much for the clones but so little for the rest of the galaxy?"

"How much does the galaxy care about the clones?"

This threw Ahsoka for a loop. "What are you talking about?"

"Let's take this rescue mission you're going to go on for example. You're going to be going into heavily protected enemy territory to save your two Jedi friends."

"Yeah. So, what's your point?"

"Let's say for a second here that it wasn't two Jedi that needed saving. It was two clones, and not even high-ranking clones. Just your basic, run of the mill grunts. Would you go on a mission that risky to save them? Or are their lives not as important?"

Ahsoka's anger evaporated. "Well, um…"

"Have you _ever_ gone on a mission to rescue run of the mill clones?"

Ahsoka was silent.

"That's what I thought." Shadow turned away from her and went back to watching the removal of the chips.

Ahsoka thought back to her conversation with Rex. He had said that the chips weren't for keeping clones from going insane. He had said… that Shadow might be right.

* * *

Yoda woke up. The first thing he noticed was how sore he was. There were bruises all over him.

"Oh good, you're awake."

Yoda looked to the side and saw Obi-wan. His wrists were bound above his head, chained to the ceiling. Yoda found himself in similar restrains. The chains were short enough that his feet dangled above the floor. Obi-wan's feet were touching the floor, but he could not sit down.

"A message, did you send?"

"I sent the message alright. Unfortunately, the only one who received it was Anakin. There was no one at the Jedi Temple. They're all… gone. And worse, it's exactly what Grievous expected me to do."

"Bait we are, for a trap. With no other Jedi to help, suicide, this mission is."

"Yes, and that's how I know Anakin's coming anyway."


	15. Diplomacy VS Violence

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Sidious contacted Eggman. "How is my special project progressing?"

"Well, I made a few improvements to your design." Eggman displayed an image of the Death Star.

It was not often that Sidious was surprised in any way. But when he saw what Eggman had done to his brainchild…

"Did you put your face on the side of my battle station!?"

"Well that's what I did with the one I built."

Sidious lifted his hand and suddenly Eggman's air supply was cut off. He gasped and choked and flailed as he tried to get air.

"Let me make something very, very clear. You. Serve. Me. This is my battle station and you will build it as indicated by my plans. Now get your ugly face off my station."

Eggman could breathe again. After a few gasps he managed to sputter out, "How did you do that?"

"Never mind how I did it. Just know that I could easily do it again."

"Yes, sir."

"Good, and after you're done with that, begin work on the new droid army and this other special project I have for you..."

* * *

Dooku walked into the meeting room of the Separatist Parliament. The members of the Parliament clapped when he walked in, but they were shocked when they saw him walking with crutches. He limped his way over to the podium.

"The war… is OVER!"

Thunderous applause shook the foundations of the building.

"However, I wish the war did not have to come to such a bloody conclusion. I gave the Republic a chance to surrender, but they sent their Jedi to assassinate me instead. Luckily, I managed to survive. And now every Jedi and corrupt senator has been captured."

More applause and cheering.

"Tomorrow we will throw a grand party to celebrate our freedom from the tyranny of the Republic!"

The meeting concluded and Dooku hobbled his way over to his office. Once inside he discarded the crutches. Dooku had been healing his leg with the Force all day. His leg was almost completely healed but Dooku didn't want anyone else to be aware of that. Having a severe injury made his story more believable.

Dooku activated the holoprojector to contact his master. "Everything is ready for the next phase of your plan."

"Good. Make sure every Separatist leader is in attendance."

"And how will we be able to frame this creature for the attack?"

"I believe my new servant will be helpful in that regard."

* * *

Ahsoka found Anakin again.

"I hope you had better luck than I did looking for volunteers."

Ahsoka shook her head. "Definitely not. If they're not willing to save the Republic, then they're not willing to save two Jedi."

Anakin nodded. "Yeah, only the 501st is interested in helping. The 212th probably would, but they're still getting their chips out and we don't have time to wait for them."

They boarded the Jedi cruiser. The 501st and Ahsoka waited to hear the plan. Anakin wasn't sure that it was safe to leave the younglings with the anti-Jedi clones and Shadow, so he brought them along as well.

"Okay, we don't have enough troops for a long-term battle, so we're gonna need to make this fast. Rex, you and the clones keep the droids occupied while me and Ahsoka find Obi-wan and Yoda."

"Uh, sir, that really isn't much of a plan." Rex pointed out.

"I know, but we have no real intel to go off of."

"What can we do?" Petro asked

"You will stay on board the ship."

"But we can help!" The human youngling protested.

Anakin shook his head. "This mission is way too dangerous for you. Any other questions?"

"I have one." Ahsoka said. "What's your plan B when all this goes horribly wrong?"

"Well in the worst-case scenario, you younglings take the ship and get away."

"So basically, there is no plan B." Ahsoka concluded.

"We barely have a plan A." Rex remarked.

"We're only going to have one shot at this. So, whatever happens, just keep fighting. Let's go."

They jumped into hyperspace and headed for Mustafar.

* * *

Grievous went into the detention center to check on his prisoners.

"Comfortable, Jedi?"

Obi-wan decided to fight sarcasm with sarcasm. "Oh yes, but we could use an extra pillow."

"Once I kill Skywalker, I will finally rid the galaxy of the Jedi."

"I think you'll find that that's easier said than done. Anakin is more powerful than any Jedi I've ever seen."

"Then his death will be even more satisfying."

A droid came in. "Uh, General?"

Grievous glared at it. "What?"

"A Republic cruiser has entered the system."

"Let the ship come in close and surround it. Do not let it escape."

* * *

"Sir, we've spotted multiple enemy ships but they're not firing at us."

"Of course not. They want us to walk right into their trap." Anakin replied.

"So, what do we do?"

"We walk right into their trap."

"What?"

"We have no choice. Bombers, take out as many enemy ships as you can. Everyone else, to the gunships."

They departed, leaving the younglings at the controls, ready to flee if things went badly.

"Why do we have to stay with the ship?" Petro complained.

"Because Anakin told us to." Katooni remined him.

"He could have left R2 in charge of the ship!"

"Beep."

"See? He agrees that he can fly this thing himself. We should be out there, helping."

A Wookie youngling nodded in agreement.

"Gungi's with me. Anyone else?"

"I'm in." A Nautolan youngling volunteered.

"Okay, that's me, Gungi, and Zatt. Are there any more?"

"What exactly is even your plan?" The Rodian girl asked. "The adults didn't even have a plan!"

"The Separatists are expecting them. They're not expecting us." Petro pointed out.

"That's not a plan."

"Guys! Remember what master Skywalker said. We're supposed to stay with the ship." Katooni interjected.

"We could make a difference out there! What if they fail because we didn't help and waited up here for the signal to run away? We are Jedi. This is what we are born to do."

"We aren't Jedi yet." Katooni pointed out. "We're not ready for this."

"If all we do is stand around doing nothing, we'll never be ready!"

* * *

Shadow stared at a holographic map of the galaxy. Three of the planets were highlighted. Bespin, Mandalore, and Florrum. They were all part of the outer rim. Coincidence or pattern? There was no telling with the Emeralds. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see a human woman walk in.

"Who are you?"

"Senator Padme Amidala of the Republic. Or I was until you destroyed it."

Shadow sighed. "Ah, yes. The corrupt senate."

"The senate might not have been perfect, but it didn't have to be destroyed!"

"Then how did you plan to fix everything?"

"I would have used diplomacy and negotiation like a civilized person."

"That only works if everyone is interested in improving things. Some people won't stop being corrupt unless they're forced. Like the Kaminoan senator. Her and her people were probably making a fortune off this war from the clone army. They'd want the war to go on for as long as possible. And they'd want clones to die so they can be replaced with more clones. They weren't interested in finding a diplomatic solution. Just making a profit."

"If violence is always the first solution you reach for, you end up using it where it's not nessary."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "And sometimes, it really is necessary and by hesitating, you get more people hurt than if you just did it."

"You're just like Anakin, always stubbornly defending your point."

"You mean like what you're doing?"

"Do you even know anything about politics?" Padme asked in frustration.

"I've only ever seen politicians do two things. Manipulate people into supporting them and argue with other politicians."

"Some of us do actually care."

"That's nice." Shadow said condescendingly. "But it didn't fix any of the Republic's problems."

"Do you have any idea how many people died because of you?"

"Do you have any idea how many people were saved because of me? Like the millions of clones the Republic was going to send to their deaths?" Shadow challenged.

"And what about all the Jedi who died because there were no clones to help them on Coruscant?"

"Well here's a little fun fact for you. I found out the clones were supposed to kill the Jedi."

Padme was stunned. "You have got to be making that up."

"No, I'm not. The son of the man who was cloned to make this army, he said the original purpose of the clones was to wipe out the Jedi. And then I met this guy named Maul. He said the clones fighting for the Jedi was all part of the plan. That was the point of the mind control. So by removing those chips, I saved more Jedi than I killed."

"Fives was right." Padme said faintly. "He wasn't crazy. He was _right._ "

"Who is he?"

"He was a clone. He removed his chip and claimed it was all part of some big conspiracy."

"Sounds like he was a pretty smart guy."

"He also said that the Chancellor was behind it and he was going to try and kill him. Does this mean…?"

"That the Chancellor is evil? Most likely. It appears that I accidently foiled his plans so you're welcome."

Padme's resolve firmed. "We need to tell Anakin."


	16. A Grievous Encounter

Shadow' Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The gunship landed and Anakin, Ahsoka, and a squad of clones rushed out.

"You guys guard the ship! We'll go inside."

"Yes, sir!"

Anakin and Ahsoka ran towards the foreboding building. They hacked and slashed their way through the hallways, searching for the cells. They then entered a large room where Grievous was waiting.

"Skywalker. I've been expecting you."

"Grievous. I've been waiting a long time for this fight."

Grievous pulled out a lightsaber and ignited it. Anakin immediately recognized the purple blade.

Though Anakin didn't like Mace, he didn't want him dead. "You'll pay for that, Grievous."

He laughed and ignited three more lightsabers. Anakin rushed forward and began dueling the cyborg. Ahsoka followed him. Then Anakin's commlink started beeping.

"This is not a good time!" He yelled into it.

Padme's urgent voice came through. "Anakin, I need to tell you something!"

"Can't it wait?"

"No! It's too important! Fives was right! The Chancellor is evil!"

"No! That's not possible!"

Chancellor Palpatine was one of his best friends. His closest confident besides Padme. It couldn't all be a lie!

Anakin shut down, unable to process what he'd been told.

"Master!"

But it was too late. Grievous backhanded Anakin into the wall, knocking him out.

* * *

"Anakin? Ani?"

Laughter came back through the comm. It definitely wasn't Anakin's laugh. "Thanks for the distraction."

"Grievous. What did you do to Anakin?" Padme demanded.

"He's not dead. Yet. But he soon will be. I'll be sure to keep this commlink on so you can hear his screams of agony as he dies."

Padme ran from the communications room back to Shadow.

"I need you to help me save Anakin."

"And why would I do that?"

"What would it take to get you to help?"

Shadow thought about this. "You're a politician, right? Because the clones don't know anything about politics. Perhaps you could help them establish a government?"

This request surprised Padme. "You want me to help the clones form their own government?"

"The only thing these guys were taught how do was fight. They won't last long unless they get some sort of governmental structure."

"I though you would ask for something for yourself."

"All I want for myself is the Chaos Emeralds so I can go home, but I doubt you know where they are. So, is it a deal or what?"

"I… yes, I can do that." Resolve strengthened her tone. She would do anything, as long as her love was saved.

"Then let's go."

* * *

When Anakin woke up, the first thing he noticed was the intense heat.

"Well, Anakin, I think your rescue mission could have gone better."

Anakin looked around and saw Obi-wan, Yoda, and Ahsoka hanging from chains. He looked down and saw that they were all hanging over a pool of molten lava. He looked over and saw a droid standing by the crane that was holding them up.

"Oh boy, you're awake! I'll go tell the General."

The droid left, leaving them alone.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Anakin asked.

"Well, I can see Grievous didn't take your commlink for some reason." Obi-wan observed. "Can you use it to call for help?"

Anakin called the Republic cruiser still orbiting the planet. "Republic cruiser, do you read me?"

Zatt answered. "I read you, how's the plan going?"

"Bad. Very, very bad. I need you to get out of here and get help from someone. Anyone."

* * *

Zatt turned to the others. "Guys, Master Skywalker's plan failed! What do we do?"

Petro stood up. "Well I say we go down there. Anyone else?"

The five others stood as well. Zatt, Ganodi, Byph, Katooni, and Gungi followed Petro to the hanger. There was one gunship left.

"Okay Ganodi, you fly."

They boarded the ship and took off.

* * *

Shadow and Padme were in hyperspace on their way to Mustafar. Padme kept staring at Shadow.

"Is there a reason you keep looking at me funny?"

Padme blushed. "Sorry, it's just that… you kind of confuse me."

"Why?"

"Well you seem to not care at all about the Republic, the Jedi, or the galaxy in general, but you do seem to care a lot about the clones. Why is that?"

"Personal reasons."

"You destroy the Galactic Republic and all you have to say about it is 'personal reasons'? I think something that big warrants a more detailed explanation."

"Let's just say I can relate to them."

Shadow's tone warned her to back off. Padme decided getting into another argument wouldn't help anything and let him be.

* * *

Grievous approached the crane.

"How does it feel, to know that you are the last of the Jedi?"

"You know, I'm curious. What are you going to do with your life when there are no Jedi left?" Anakin asked.

Grievous ignored the smart-ass question and pulled the lever. They began slowly descending towards the lava.

"If anyone has a plan to escape, I'd love to hear it." Ahsoka said nervously.

* * *

Rex and the clones stood by the ship, waiting for Anakin to return.

"He should have come back by now." Rex observed.

"What do we do about it?" Edge asked

"We go find him."

"But we're supposed to be guarding the escape route!"

"What's the point in guarding an escape route that no one's going to escape with?"

Rex made his way towards the fortress. The other clones followed him.

* * *

The Jedi dropped closer and closer towards the lava. Grievous watched, eager to see his life goal achieved. Suddenly, the sound of an incoming gunship caught his attention. The ship opened fire and Grievous jumped out of the way. The side doors opened, and four younglings jumped out.

"I told you to get out of here!" Anakin exclaimed.

"Now you know how I feel." Obi-wan remarked dryly.

The younglings made a run for the crane controls, but Grievous got there first. He sliced the control panel with one the lightsabers he held.

"Was this your plan B? Send in a bunch of baby Jedi?" Grievous mocked before charging the younglings.

Obi-wan watched helplessly as Grievous drew nearer to the younglings. But the younglings did not ignite their lightsabers or run away. They stood their ground with their arms stretched out and eyes closed in concentration.

Then Grievous stopped running and stood looking around in confusion.

"Where are you?"

Katooni broke off from the others and ran to the edge of the pit. The Jedi were getting uncomfortably close to the lava. She extended her hand downwards and concentrated. The lava began to cool and harden.

The Jedis' feet touched warm but blessedly solid rock. The chain continued to unwind and Obi-wan and Yoda groaned as the slackening chain finally let them put their arms down.

"Where exactly did you learn to do that?" Obi-wan called to Katooni.

"Well… do you remember how we were locked in the holocron vault during the attack on Coruscant? We might have gotten a little bored and decided to open a few holocrons."

"Ready to study those holocrons, you are not."

"It wasn't my idea!"

Grievous hear them talking and turned in their direction. He still couldn't see anyone, but he definitely heard a voice. He began to stomp towards them.

Zatt saw Grievous move and called, "Katooni! Look out!"

Grievous quickly turned towards the new voice and again saw no one.

"Your Force tricks can't keep you hidden forever!"

He began to walk in the direction he had heard Zatt calling from. Katooni jumped into the pit with the Jedi. The circling gunship took another shot at Grievous and he again jumped out of the way. He raised his arm and fired a grappling hook at the ship from his wrist. The hook caught and Grievous ascended towards the ship.

He climbed along the side of the gunship and stabbed the engines to disable them. The ship fell and slid across the rocky ground. Two more younglings crawled out of the cockpit.

Grievous advanced on them, only to be thrown into the air by a Force Push. He slammed against the wall of the fortress and saw that his Jedi prisoners were now freed. He activated the alarm and droids began swarming out of the fortress.

* * *

In the sky above Mustafar, a new ship was coming in.

"Why aren't they shooting at us?" Padme asked looking at the swarm of ships around the planet.

"Because they think we're going to die when get to the planet. If we try to leave, then they'd shoot at us. Those fighters are trying to clear a path for the rescue team to get out."

Padme decided to try calling Anakin.

"Anakin? Are you there?"

"Yes I am. I'm a little busy being shot at right now."

Padme was relieved. "You're alive! I've come to save you. Where are you?"

"I'm not too far from the scary looking fortress with all the droids."

As the ship flew lower, Padme and Shadow saw the fortress.

"Okay, this is close enough."

"What do you mean? Close enough for what?" Padme asked.

Shadow opened the main hatch. "You just wait here for me to get back."

"What are you doing?"

"What you brought me here to do." And with that, he jumped out.

* * *

The Jedi were hiding behind a big mound of rock.

"Don't worry." Anakin assured them. "I have another gunship being guarded by Rex."

"Okay." Obi-wan said. "Where is it?"

"It's on the other side of those battle droids."

"Of course, it is. And what's your plan for getting past those battle droids without getting shot?"

"I'm… still working on that part."

Suddenly, a black spiked ball fell from the sky and began tearing apart the droids.

"What is that?" Obi-wan exclaimed.

"Shadow decided to show up after all." Ahsoka remarked.

"This our chance. Let's make a run for the ship!"

Grievous saw the new creature confront his droids. As he watched, the creature drew a lightsaber. But not just any lightsaber, it was the Darksaber. Grievous could tell that he had had no training with the weapon as he sloppily hacked and slashed his way through the droids. The cyborg then saw the Jedi making a break for it. He began to pursue the them.

Shadow finished off the last battle droid, then saw what looked like a four-armed robot crawling like a spider towards the escaping Jedi. He rushed forward, intending to execute a full-frontal attack.

Grievous raised one of his arms and blocked the attack. He stood and faced Shadow.

"I imagined the creature who had crippled the Republic to be a bit… bigger."

"I've defeated machines far larger than you."

"I am not a machine!"

Grievous brought all four lightsabers to bear and attacked Shadow. He dodged by jumping back. Shadow charged forward with the Darksaber extended. He thought he would be too fast for his opponent, but Grievous blocked the attack with ease. He used two lightsabers to block, then used a third to stab Shadow in the side. He dropped to the ground.

Grievous laughed at him. "I've fought Jedi younglings with more skill than you."

He then prepared to strike Shadow again, only for a flash of green light to obscure his vision. When it cleared, Shadow was gone.

Grievous was confused. Was this another Jedi trick? Then he remembered that his prisoners were escaping and continued pursuing them.

* * *

Padme sat at the controls waiting for… anything to happen. A green light flashed behind her. She turned and saw Shadow curled into a tight ball on the floor. She stared in shock for a few seconds until a groan of pain spurred her to action.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! The Jedi are headed for the south side of the fortress."

Padme went back to the controls and began flying to where Shadow had directed her.

* * *

"I see the ship!" Obi-wan shouted.

"Where's Rex and the other guys?" Anakin asked.

"Maybe the droids got them?" Zatt proposed.

"If the droids got them, their bodies would still be here. Plus, the ship is intact and there are no broken droids here."

"They must have got into the fortress looking for us." Ahsoka deduced.

"Then we'd better go get them."

"Anakin, I'm not sure we have time for that." Obi-wan stated carefully.

"We can't just leave them!"

"Anakin, Grievous is right on our tail and we need to get these younglings out of here!"

As if his name had summoned him, Grievous leapt out of the darkness and grabbed Obi-wan by the throat. He prepared to impale the Jedi, but suddenly Grievous was zapped with Force Lighting. He dropped Obi-wan and fell back.

Everyone turned to see who shot the lighting. They saw Petro with his hand raised and his eyes in a cold, angry stare.


	17. Aftershock

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Grievous was unprepared to deal with such an attack. The only person he had ever seen perform Force Lightning was Count Dooku. Dooku had told him that the Jedi refused to use such a technique. Unsure of how combat this power, he decided the best course of action was to retreat. Grievous crawled away while everyone stared at Petro.

Obi-wan was the first to speak. "Where… did you learn that?"

"You know, from the holocrons. Like Katooni said."

"That is a Dark Side technique. You could have only learned that from a Sith holocron."

"Uh… well, I might have opened up one of them. Just to see what it was like."

Everyone stared at him in horror.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Anakin was about to say something when he saw Padme's ship approaching.

"We can discuss this later." Anakin said. "You guys get out of here. Me and Ahsoka are going to find Rex and the other clones."

Anakin and Ahsoka ran back inside the fortress. Padme landed the ship, and everyone got aboard.

"Senator? What are you doing here?"

"Saving all of you. Where's Anakin?"

"He and Ahsoka went back inside looking for Rex."

"Why?"

A noise of pain brought everyone's attention to Shadow as he slowly got up. "I'll go get him."

"You don't look like you're in any shape to do anything." Obi-wan noted, taking in Shadow's pale muzzle and strained expression.

"I made a deal to save this guy, so I'm going to make sure he gets saved."

Shadow exited the ship and made his way towards the fortress.

"Senator, what does he mean by 'made a deal?'"

"Um, about that…"

* * *

"This place is huge, how are we supposed to find them?" Jesse asked as he looked around.

"How can we be sure that they're even still alive?" Havoc worried.

"They set off the alarm. They're still alive." Rex assured his men. "Just keep your ears open for the sounds of clankers being sliced apart."

"Hey, look! Clones! Blast them!"

The clones ducked behind whatever cover they could find. The droids that had found them abruptly flew up and hit the ceiling.

"Didn't I tell you guys to guard the ship?"

"General Skywalker! We were just following the example you set."

"Yeah, well lets get out of here before-"

Two destroyer droids rolled up and start shooting.

"Before that happens."

They ran away down another hallway. The hall led to the communications center and the clones shot the droids inside. They closed the door behind them, leaving the destroyer droids stuck in the hallway because they didn't have hands.

"Okay they can't get in, but how are we going to get out? I don't see any other doors." Edge stated.

"Hold on, I have an idea." Anakin walked to the console. He cleared his throat and spoke in a rough voice, "Attention, all Separatist ships. This is General Grievous. All Separatist ships are to report to the Dagobah system."

"The Dagobah system? Why? There's nothing out there! And why does your voice sound funny?"

"There is nothing wrong with my voice! Now get going before I come up there and rip you into little pieces!"

"Eep! Roger Roger! Moving out now!"

Anakin turned back to the clones. "And just like that, the Separatist blockade is gone."

"Okay, great but we're still stuck in here."

"Not for long." Anakin pointed to an air vent.

* * *

Shadow slowly half-stumbled, half-walked down the hallway. Pain flared and burned through him. Only stubbornness kept him moving. He heard thumping coming from the vent above. There was no way it was droids in there, it had to be the people he was looking for.

But, before he could call to them, Grievous rounded the corner.

"There you are, I was wondering where you went."

Shadow fired a Chaos Spear at Grievous. He simply blocked it and began to menacingly walk forward. Shadow recognized that he was in a bad situation. He used Chaos Control to slow down time and began to stagger away.

* * *

They reached the end of the vent and found themselves on a landing platform. They saw a single ship out there. Grievous's starfighter.

"There's no way we're all going to fit into that thing."

"No, but I bet that Grievous has few souvenirs in there."

Anakin ran over to the ship. After searching the cockpit for a few seconds, he came back holding a bunch of lightsabers.

"Here you go, Snips!"

"Our lightsabers!" Ahsoka took back the two that belonged to her.

Shadow made it to the landing platform. "There… you… are." He panted.

"Is that a hole in your side?" Anakin asked, kneeling down to take a closer look.

Shadow covered the wound with his hand and stepped away. "It's… nothing. Now… I have a four-armed maniac… after me so let's… get out of here."

It obviously wasn't nothing, but Anakin figured that medical attention could be given after they escaped. "Okay, I'll call us a ride. Padme, we're on the north landing platform. Get over here and fast." Anakin then turned to Rex. "Do you have a spare grenade?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I want to leave Grievous a little goodbye gift."

Rex grinned and handed over the explosive. As Anakin placed it, Padme's ship came into view.

"Alright… lets get… out… of…" Shadow collapsed.

Jesse checked Shadow over. "He's still breathing. Wait… oh my god that hole goes all the way through him!"

"Are you sure he's breathing?" Edge asked

"He's definitely breathing."

Jesse picked Shadow up as the ship landed. Grievous arrived on the platform in time to see them quickly board the ship and take off. Grievous ran to his starfighter to follow.

Once inside, he heard a beeping sound. He saw a thermal detonator planted on the console. Grievous quickly tried to climb out of the ship, but it was too late. His ship exploded into flames. A heavily damaged and enraged Grievous crawled out of the wreckage. He looked up to see the ship full of Jedi disappear into the clouds.

* * *

"Why are treating this like a bad thing? I used that power to help us escape!"

Yoda, Obi-wan, and Anakin all faced Petro in a small room aboard the Republic cruiser.

"Use the power of the Dark Side, you did."

"So, what if I did?"

"That goes completely against the ways of the Jedi." Obi-wan answered sternly.

"If I didn't do it, then you'd be dead!"

"He has point. Would you really rather be dead?" Anakin asked.

"That is not the point! The point is that he studied and used Dark Side powers!"

"I thought they'd be helpful!" Petro explained.

"Desiring power. A path to the Dark Side, that is."

"So, what are you going to do to me?"

They all took a moment to think on that question. The usual punishment was to expel the person from the Jedi Order. But there was no Order anymore.

"Decide what to do later, we will. Until then, imprisoned you will be."

"I agree." Obi-wan said.

"Isn't that a little bit extreme? He's just a kid. And he saved your life."

"The Sith are taking over the galaxy right now. The power of the Dark Side is growing. We can't afford to ignore this."

"I'm not a criminal!"

Petro's protests were ignored as Obi-wan and Yoda escorted him to the ship's prison cells.

* * *

Padme looked up at the knock on her door. It was Anakin.

"Hey, um, I think we need to talk." Padme steeled herself in preparation, only to blink in surprise when he went on to say, "You know about the whole… kidnapping/saving you thing."

With all that had happened, she had honestly forgotten. "Oh, right. I thought you wanted to talk to me about Palpatine."

"Palpatine? What about him?"

"I know it must be hard on you. I know you considered him a good friend."

What Padme had said just before he had been knocked out came back to Anakin.

"Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no!"

"Anakin?"

"No, it's not possible. It's not possible!"

Padme wrapped her arms around Anakin. She didn't know what to say, so she just held him while he mourned. They remained that way for the rest of trip back to Kamino.

* * *

Rex went to check up on Shadow. They had arrived at Kamino hours before, but Shadow had been left in a bacta tank on board the cruiser to recover. There had been some discussion over whether using bacta had even been a good idea, because Shadow was an unfamiliar species and might have a bad reaction. They decided the risk was worth it and indeed, Shadow seemed to be responding well to the treatment. A medical droid had been assigned to watch over Shadow so checking up on him probably wasn't necessary, but Rex felt that someone should anyway.

The soft beeping of a heart monitor greeted Rex as he entered the room.

"How is he?" Rex asked the droid.

"Surprisingly well actually. He seems to be healing much faster than anyone I've ever treated. His biology is very strange."

The heart monitor began to beep faster and faster. An attached alarm began ring, signifying a heart rate that was much too high. In the tank, Shadow had begun to writhe, his face twisted in pain and terror.

"What's wrong?" Rex demanded.

"He appears to be having some sort of panic attack."

Shadow's body began to glow red.

"What's happening to him?"

"I don't know! His vitals are out of control!"

By sheer instinctive reflex, Rex hit the floor and covered his head. A powerful wave of red energy bust out of the tank and tore through the room like a bomb going off. Once the room was quiet again, Rex lifted his head back up. He saw the droid was in pieces, his limbs scattered about the room. He then looked over and saw Shadow standing outside the tank, his breathing short and fast and his eyes were darting about the room.

Rex cautiously stood back up. Shadow's head snapped over to him.

Rex held up his hands to show they were empty. "Take it easy. You're safe. I'm not going to hurt you."

Shadow's eyes cleared a bit. "What…? This isn't…"

"You're on Kamino. You're safe."

Rex tried taking a step closer. Shadow did not back away or flinch. Instead, his face had gone blank.

"It's… fine. I'm fine."

Rex blinked incredulously. "You have a hole in you and you blew up this room after having a panic attack. You are not fine."

Shadow ignored his comment and walked out of the room.

"Hey hold on now! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to keep looking for the Chaos Emeralds."

"Are you seriously going to ignore everything that just happened?"

"I told you. It's fine."

"Wherever it is that you came from, they must have a very different definition of fine."

Shadow walked away leaving Rex alone.

 _What is wrong with this guy? Is he crazy? Who gets stabbed, blows up a room, and then just acts like it didn't even happen? I need to keep an eye on him._


	18. Separatist Massacre

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Sidious arrived on Geonosis to check on his new servant's progress.

"How is the new droid army coming along?"

"50,000 egg pawns are ready."

"That many? You certainly work quickly."

"It's much easier having actual workers to help out. Normally I'd have to build a factory to make worker robots to work in my other factories! But now that I have all these bug guys to do the work, I have free time to work on all kinds of different things." Eggman boasted.

"Does this mean that you finished that other project I gave you?"

"Ah yes. Oh, Shadow! Come in here, please."

Shadow entered carrying a teapot and two cups on a tray.

"Presenting the Shadow Android."

Sidious was amazed by how much it resembled the real hedgehog. He thought that he would have to use a hologram disguise emitter on the creation, but that clearly wasn't necessary.

Eggman grinned smugly. "Impressed?"

"Your creations might look impressive, how are they in a combat situation?"

"Send your toughest machines against mine. You'll see which ones are superior."

"Your droids will have to be able to do more than take out inferior units."

"Then what are we testing them against?"

"A Jedi."

Sidious led Eggman to a large arena built with sandstone. A young boy was dragged out into the arena in chains.

"That's what you want my robots to fight? A kid?"

"He is a Jedi Padawan. My droids found him hiding in the Jedi Temple."

The guards unchained Caleb and backed to a safe distance before throwing him his lightsaber. They fled the arena while he picked it up. Caleb looked up at the stands and saw two men in the royal box. One was fat with a big mustache and the other was a creepy-looking man with a hood over his head.

Caleb had an unnerving feeling when he looked at him. But then he heard metallic clanking. He ignited his lightsaber and turned around, expecting to see battle droids. But instead he saw a different type of droid that he had never seen before.

They were orange and round, and they resembled the fat man in the stands. The new droids raised their weapons and began firing. Caleb deflected the blasts. He sent one of the shots right back towards the droid that fired it. The blast hit the droid, but it kept advancing.

Its armor was tough, but almost certainly couldn't withstand a lightsaber. He charged at the droids. But then one of the shots hit him in the shoulder. Caleb stumbled and fell. He tried to quickly get back up, but then felt a hot burning in his forehead as another shot pierced through his skull.

"Your droids' accuracy is most impressive. Not only is the boy dead, he didn't take a single droid with him." Sidious began imagining having enough of these droids to cover the entire galaxy. Yes, Eggman was turning out to be very useful indeed.

"Yeah well, it's a lot easier to hit a target that isn't moving at the speed of sound. And if you think that was impressive, check out what my Shadow Android can do. Shadow, go destroy those egg pawns."

The Android dropped the tray and jumped into the arena. The robots began firing at him, but the Android avoided the shots with ease, skating closer to them. It curled into a high-speed ball and smashed into one. The egg pawn broke into pieces.

The Android ripped the arm off the robot next to it, and then kicked it over. It picked up the egg pawn's body and threw it at two more pawns.

The Android turned to the last two egg pawns. It ran up to the first pawn, ripped its gun out of its hands, shot the other egg pawn, and then beat the first pawn to death with its own weapon.

The Android stood at attention and waited for Eggman to give it its next command.

Eggman looked at Sidious. "Well? Do you think that will serve your purposes?"

"You have done well, Doctor. Now continue work on the Death Star. I'll be taking your Android for a special assignment."

* * *

Dooku looked himself over in the mirror. He needed to look wounded, but still clean and sophisticated. The crutches easily took care of the wounded part. The pristine white tuxedo with a red bow tie fulfilled the sophisticated part. Satisfied with his look, he activated his holoprojector and contacted General Kalani.

"Are the commando droids ready?"

"Affirmative." The super tactical droid responded. "They are disguised and ready for attack."

"Good. Now make sure they take out every member of the Separatist Council."

"I'm afraid I do not see the strategic value in taking out the Separatist Council. Are they not the ones suppling the droid army?"

"That is precisely why they need to be eliminated. They control the entire military force. I'm on my way to the party now. Commence attack in half an hour."

The banquet hall was the largest and fanciest on Raxus. Bright lights and sounds of merrymaking washed over Dooku as he stepped inside. The party-goers cheered and applauded as he passed. Every Senator was there, dressed in their finest.

He saw Nute Gunray and Rune Haako sitting at a table. Each was drinking a different kind of wine from everyone else. They had most likely brought their own out of fear of being poisoned by their business rivals. They always were paranoid.

In another corner, Passel Argente and Denaria Kee were talking to each other. At another table Po Nudo had already gotten himself roaring drunk, and Shu Mai looked embarrassed to be sitting with him. Wat Tambor, Ticks, and San Hill were listening to the orchestra and Poggle was stuffing his face with lavish food.

Now that he knew that all members of the Council were present, all Dooku had to do was act natural and wait for the attack. He seated himself at his table and was served immediately. He took a sip from his wine glass.

"A fine vintage." He complemented. Dooku then tapped his wine glass with a spoon. "Can I have everyone's attention? This day started out as just a dream. The day the Republic answered for the mistreatment of the Outer-rim worlds. Their Senate, filled with corrupt bureaucrats who only cared about themselves. And their Jedi Order, who blindly allowed them to do whatever they pleased. But now that they're gone, we will create a new government. A government where all worlds are treated fairly. To the Separatist Alliance!"

Everyone applauded. However, the sound of blaster fire suddenly interrupted the applause.

Wat Tamboor stood up and shouted, "What is going on?"

A battle droid ran in through the main entrance. "We're under attack!"

The droid's head was blasted off. A group of clone troopers rushed in the doorway.

"Clone troopers!" Nute Gunray screamed. "I thought they abandoned the Republic!"

He and Rune Haako bolted for the back door, only to run into another group of clones. The two raised their hands in surrender.

"Don't shoot! We surrender!"

They were shot anyway. Passel Argente and Denaria Kee took cover behind a table. One of the clones pulled out a thermal detonator and threw it at the table. One last scream of fear could be heard from behind the table before the explosion devastated the area.

Po Nudo pulled out the blaster pistol he had concealed in his robe, but all his shots went wide. Before he could adjust his drunken aim, the clones shot him down. Poggle's wings whirred as he leapt for one of the windows.

But as he reached the window, something smashed through from the other side. Poggle's body hit the ground in two pieces, and Shadow uncurled to land in the middle of the banquet hall. Shadow turned and saw San Hill lying on the ground, trying to avoid getting shot. He walked right up to him.

"Hold on, hold on! We can make a deal! I have money! Lots of money!"

His attempts at negoation were ignored and Shadow stomped his head into mush. Wat Tambor had grabbed one of the Senators to use as a human shield. Shadow charged a spindash and sliced his way through both of them.

Ticks lied down on the ground and tried to play dead, hoping he would go unnoticed. Unfortunately, his trick didn't work and the clones opened fire on him, blasting him full of holes.

Shadow then lifted up a table where Shu Mai was cowering.

"Please don't-"

SMASH! Shadow slammed the table down on top of her.

The clones began rounding up the Senators and herding them into the middle of the room. Shadow hopped up on one of the tables.

"All of you shut up!"

They all looked at the blood-covered creature that had invaded their party.

"Did you really think that I destroyed the Republic, so you could take control of the galaxy? The answer is no! This galaxy now belongs to me!"

"Over my dead body!" Everyone's eyes snapped to Dooku, who was standing and staring Shadow down.

"Kill him!"

The clones raised their blasters to obey. Dooku extended both of his hands and shot them all with Force Lighting. The clones collapsed and Dooku drew his lightsaber.

"You'll need more clones than that if you plan to take down the Separatist Alliance!"

Droid reinforcements entered the building. Shadow did not appear fazed.

"Oh, I have more clones. And when I come back, I'm bringing all of them!"

He then turned and raced for the door. The droids tried to stop him, but Shadow easily tore right through them. The Senators remained lying on the floor, still gripped with fear.

"What do we do?"

"We're all gonna die!"

"How can we stop that monster?"

"Everyone please, calm down! Do not be intimidated by this barbaric monster! We will create a new droid army. A stronger droid army! An army that will destroy this creature and his army of clones! And we bring peace and security to the galaxy!"

Dooku's voice gave the Senators hope. Once they were safely escorted home, Dooku ordered the droids to dispose of the disguised commando droids before people found out that they weren't really clone troopers.

Dooku then contacted his master. "The plan is working perfectly. The people are terrified, and I am their one and only source of hope."

"Perfect. Now to get the real clones involved in this war. Send Grievous to attack Kamino."


	19. The Light Side of the Dark

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Obi-wan found Anakin staring out at the rain. He could sense how upset his former Padawan was, and no wonder.

"So… Padme told you about the Chancellor?"

"She said he was evil. She said that Fives was right."

"He was. Palpatine is the second Sith Lord."

"How could he be a Sith Lord? We would have sensed it!"

Shame coursed through Obi-wan. "Yes, we should have. But we didn't. Our vision was clouded far more than we realized."

"How did we let this happen?"

"I've been asking myself that question ever since I found out too. But there's nothing we can do to change the past."

"So, what do we do now?"

"It's better that we all discus that together. Let's round up the others."

* * *

Shadow walked down the hallway. The pain in his middle was slightly decreased, allowing him to hide it from others better, but it still clawed at his nerves. Shadow thought about his only friends, Rouge and Omega. What were they doing right now? What did they think happened to him? And what would they say if they were actually there with him?

The last one was easy. _Rouge would be telling me that I shouldn't be walking around with a stab wound and Omega would want to know who did it so that he could go kill the guy. He would probably also want to know where he could get one of those cool laser swords._

Shadow then suddenly stopped. He began to search himself. The Darksaber and the Chaos Emeralds were gone. Someone must have taken them while he was out. It had to be the Jedi. But where were they now?

Shadow had reached the entrance ramp of the ship when he heard a sneeze. He looked over at a stack of crates.

"Are you really hoping I didn't hear that?"

"Nice going, Byph."

A group of kids came out from behind the crates.

"Aren't you those kids from that lava planet? Wait, what were you even doing there anyway?"

"We were saving our masters." Katooni answered.

"The Jedi? Are you saying that Anakin guy brought you along? Why would he do that?"

"He said that he didn't want us to be left alone here with you and the clones."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Oh, of course. I'm sure that he told you that I would have eaten you or something."

The blue skinned alien asked, "You don't actually do that, right?"

Shadow face palmed. "No, I don't do that! Wait, wasn't there another one of you?"

"Yeah, that's actually why we're here. Petro's locked in the brig on this ship."

"They locked up a kid? For what?"

"He opened up a Sith holocron and used Dark Side powers."

Shadow turned and started walking back into the ship.

"Uh, where's he going?" Katooni whispered.

Shadow turned back to them. "You said you're looking for your friend? Let's go find him."

The younglings looked at each other, confused. Was this some kind of trap? They decided to follow him anyway. While they were walking, they kept whispering to each other.

"Anyone else feel like this is a bad idea?" Ganodi asked.

"There's five of us and one of him. Plus, he's been stabbed. I think we can take him." Zatt reasoned.

"He doesn't seem to be that bothered by it. And why isn't he in the bacta tank anymore?" Katooni pointed out.

"Well okay, if he tries anything then we'll outrun him."

"If you're done coming up with bad ideas, can you tell me where the brig on this thing is?"

"Uh… make a right."

They reached the brig and Shadow saw a young boy sitting alone in a cell. "You're Petro?"

He looked up and saw Shadow standing outside his cell. "You! What do you want? Are you here to kill me?" Petro stood up in a combat stance.

Shadow let out an annoyed sigh. "No. Now, your friends told me you're locked in here for using dark powers or something?"

"Yes, but I did it because I thought it would be helpful. If we're going up against Sith, isn't it better if we can understand what they can do? I even saved Master Obi-wan's life!"

"That's all I needed to hear." Shadow pushed the button to open the cell. "Let's go have a word with those other Jedi."

* * *

Anakin, Obi-wan, Yoda, Ahsoka, and Padme sat in a room together. It was depressing how few of them there were.

"Dark times, these are. Uncertain, the future is."

"Palpatine is going to keep looking for us. Until we figure out what we're going to do, we must remain hidden." Obi-wan said.

"Whatever we're going to do, we're going to need an army to do it." Ahsoka declared.

"That may not be possible." Obi-wan reminded her. "Most of the clone army is against us. And the numbers of the 501st keep dwindling with every battle we get into."

"We can negotiate with them." Padme suggested.

"What can we offer them?" Obi-wan asked. "We have nothing."

"Well, they seem to follow Shadow, so we'll make a deal with him."

Then the door slid open.

"You!" Shadow stormed into the room.

Anakin ignited his lightsaber and stood in front of Padme. "She's going to hold up her end of the deal, just be patient."

"I'm not talking about her, I'm talking about the rest of you. You guys have got to be the absolute worst peace keepers I have ever seen! You locked an innocent kid in prison for saving your life?"

"Are you talking about Petro?" Obi-wan questioned. "Look, you don't understand the situation-"

"Are you saying he didn't save your life?"

"Well… no. But-"

"But what? Why is that a reason to lock him away?"

"Forbidden powers, he used. Dangerous, he is."

"So, saving lives and wanting to help, that's dangerous now?"

"You don't know what the Dark Side does to people. It corrupts them. It consumes them. Petro is headed down a dark path."

"And locking him up and treating him like a criminal is supposed to fix that how?"

"We are deciding what we're going to do with him."

"Does that mean you're deciding whether or not to kill him?"

"We're not sure what to do with him. We're trying to find a peaceful solution that doesn't endanger us."

It didn't escape Shadow that he didn't deny thinking about killing Petro. "I can personally tell you that what you're doing is going to accomplish the exact opposite. Treat people as if they're monsters and they become monsters."

"Have another suggestion, do you?"

"Treat him like a person, not a time bomb."

"Alright! He's free to walk around as long as he's supervised." Obi-wan compromised.

"Fine, but I'm going to be the one who watches him."

"You? Um, no."

"I'll watch him." Anakin decided.

"Fine then. Both me and him will watch him. Now that that's decided, what did you guys do with my stuff?"

"Ah, yes that reminds me of something I wanted to ask you." Obi-wan pulled out the Darksaber. "Where did you get this? Because last I checked, this was in the hands of a Sith Lord."

"Oh, you mean the horned guy with metal legs? He's dead."

"You killed Darth Maul?"

"Yeah, I had to put the poor guy down. He tried to force me into his revenge scheme."

Obi-wan stared, bewildered.

Shadow came to a realization. "You were the guy he wanted to kill, aren't you?"

"It's… complicated."

"You cut him in half. It doesn't sound that complicated." Shadow took the sword from him. "Now, the Chaos Emeralds?"

Yoda, knowing there was no point in fighting it, handed them over.

Then Anakin noticed something he should have noticed a while ago. "Wait a minute, shouldn't you still be in the bacta tank?"

"I can heal on my own."

Cody abruptly burst in, brandishing a blaster and shouting. "How could you do this to me? My whole life is a lie!"

Obi-wan held up his hand in a placating gesture. "Cody, calm down."

"The only reason you created us is so we could die!" The enraged clone pointed his blaster at Obi-wan.

"Cody don't do it!"

Rex leapt into the room and stunned Cody. Cody dropped to the floor. Obi-wan stared at the unconscious trooper. He couldn't believe what had just happened. He considered Cody to be one of his closest friends. Not anymore. Obi-wan had never seen him so angry. Not even at the Separatists. And all that anger was directed at him.

Rex picked Cody up. "I'll… keep Cody in the brig until he calms down."

"Good, that'll give you something to do besides follow me around. You really need to work on your stealth."

Rex stared at Shadow. "You knew I was following you the whole time and you just let me do it?"

"I didn't care enough about it to stop you."

Rex took Cody away, and Anakin and Shadow went to meet up with Petro in the cafeteria.

When Petro saw Anakin, he asked, "You're not gonna lock me up again are you?"

"No, we're just going to… supervise you."

"Supervise me? You mean babysit me."

Shadow sat down next to Petro. "Petro, there's one thing I want to make very clear. Absolutely nothing you did was wrong."

"I wouldn't say that." Anakin put in. "He opened a Sith holocron. That can only be done by embracing fear and anger."

Shadow looked up at Anakin. "So, what if he did?"

"Only a Sith would be able to do that."

"Are you telling me that Petro is a Sith? For not repressing his emotions? For feeling things like a normal person?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"It's not the Jedi way to desire this type of power."

"Okay, number one, the more I hear about the Jedi and how they do things, the more I get pissed off. So, the Jedi way is overrated. Number two, so you're saying you're afraid of him because of the power he wields right? You say these powers are 'evil'? Power is not evil. A power that can be used to do bad things can also be used to do good things. Like saving your friend for instance. A person can wield the most devastating and destructive powers to ever exist. But that power does not make that person evil. What makes him evil is what he decides to do with that power."

"I… you're right. I've thought many of the same things myself."

"Then why are you with these Jedi idiots?"

"They're not idiots, I just don't fully agree with their philosophy."

"Then stop being a Jedi."

"I still want to protect the galaxy."

"Who said you had to be a Jedi to do that?"

Petro reminded them that he was still there. "Uh, guys? What does any of this mean for me?"

"It means I'm going to teach you the proper way to protect the galaxy."


	20. Lessons and Nightmares

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story.

"What makes you think you know the proper way to protect the galaxy?" Anakin asked. "You seem to have caused a lot of death and destruction for someone who claims to know about protecting galaxies."

"The people I killed, I killed because they were the source of problems. Because they took advantage of and abused the innocent. Which brings me to lesson number one, if your plan involves hurting innocent people, then it's automatically a bad plan. Some people say the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. But the many is made up of the few. If the few aren't happy, then the many isn't happy. No one is expendable." Shadow explained.

Petro looked thoughtful. "Then how do I determine when someone does deserve to die?"

"Smart question, kid. You can tell when someone deserves to die when they refuse to make a compromise. If your opponent refuses to stop, then finish him."

"Weren't the Kaminoians you killed not fighters at all?" Anakin asked.

"First of all, the clones killed them all, not me. I just sat back and watched."

"You just let the clones commit mass murder."

"They were slaves killing their owners. Which brings me to lesson number two, slavery is always wrong. Since the clones were slaves to the Kaminoians, I let the clones determine whether the Kaminoians deserved to live."

While Petro mulled that one over, Shadow began to feel dizzy.

Anakin noticed. "Hey, are you okay? You got really pale all of a sudden."

"I'm fine, I just…" Shadow slumped over.

Anakin caught him and looked him over.

"What's wrong with him?" Petro asked.

"He fainted. It's much too soon for him to be out of the bacta tank. What was that medical droid thinking?"

Anakin straightened with Shadow cradled in his arms and began walking briskly towards Kamino's medical facility. The clones they passed shot concerned looks at Shadow but knew better than to delay Anakin by asking questions.

Minutes later, a new medical droid was checking Shadow's vitals.

"His vitals seem to be normal." The droid said to Anakin. "I didn't know it was possible for someone with a hole going straight through them to be this healthy. It also appears that the hole inside of him is slowly filling itself in."

"He's regenerating?" Anakin clarified.

"Yes however, I'm not able to pinpoint exactly what caused him to pass out."

Anakin then sensed that something was wrong. A few seconds later, Shadow's heart rate greatly increased. Shadow began to flail his limbs about inside the bacta tank. His fist punched through the glass wall of the tank, causing bacta to spill onto the floor.

Anakin turned to the medical droid. "Wake him up!"

"I'm trying!" The droid said, pressing the button.

Shadow began shouting. "Get away from me!"

He began rapidly firing Chaos Spears every which way. Anakin and Petro ducked to avoid the blasts. The medical droid wasn't so lucky as its head was blasted off.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know! All I know is that he's terrified!"

" _He's_ terrified?"

Shadow's eyes shot open. After examining his surroundings, he shakily climbed out of the shattered remains of the tank. He noticed the Chaos Emeralds and Darksaber sitting on the table and quickly retrieved them. Then he saw Petro and Anakin laying on the floor. They looked up at him.

"Are you done?" Anakin asked.

A humiliated flush spread across Shadow's face. He flattened his ears and averted his eyes. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, well the room isn't!" Petro exclaimed. "Why did you do that?"

Shadow tried to avoid the question. "Never mind that. Let's get back to work."

"Never mind that? You could have killed us!"

"Petro's right. What's going on here?"

"Nothing."

Anakin crossed his arms. "I don't need the use the Force to know that you're lying."

Shadow silently moved towards the door. Anakin stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"You can't just ignore this. You're afraid of something. What is it?"

"It was just a dream. Nothing important."

"Nothing important? You were trying to kill something in your sleep."

Shadow remained silent.

"We can't help you if we don't know what the problem is. You can trust us. If we were against you, we would have killed you while you were sleeping." Anakin persuaded.

"If you had done that, then the clones would have killed you."

"True, but we also brought you here to get medical attention."

Shadow sighed. "Fine, but I'm only going to say this once. It was a few days ago I think that I was kidnapped by this guy in a dark robe. There's something incredibly disturbing about that guy." Shadow unconsciously hunched his shoulders and bristled his quills. "I felt him… go inside my head, looking for information. I managed to escape, but every time I've gone to sleep since then, I see him in my dreams, still torturing me. I can still feel the pain."

Anakin thought to himself, _Palpatine._ "Well, he's not here. You're safe."

"You think I don't know that?" Shadow growled.

"Hold on." Petro interjected, "You said you still feel the pain? As in physical pain?"

"Yeah, so what? It's probably just a stress headache."

"I don't think so. I think these might be more than nightmares."

"What do you mean?" Anakin asked.

"Well, back when I was looking through that Sith holocron, I discovered a technique called Dream Invasion, where a person can psychologically attack someone from within their dreams. And apparently, if someone is powerful enough they can force them into that dream state."

Shadow stared in wide-eyed horror. "How do I make him stop?"

"Well, you would either have to kill him, or overpower him mentally and force him out of your head. But you don't have the Force so I'm not sure the second option is possible."

Shadow clenched his fists. "Then let's go find him."

"If you're going after a Sith Lord, you might want to improve your swordsmanship. I saw you fighting the droids on Mustifar and you clearly didn't know how to wield a lightsaber." Anakin pointed out.

"You want to teach me?" Shadow guessed. "Well, you are the most tolerable Jedi, so sure."

"Thanks, I guess. Once you've healed a bit more we can start."

"No. I want to start now."

"Are you sure about that?"

"It's too important for me to learn this and I really don't want to go back to sleep right now."

Anakin knew what Shadow meant and reluctantly agreed. "All right. Let's go somewhere else."

They went to one of the clone training centers. It was a large room, with chest-high walls and turrets for the clones to try and get past. The only ones in there now were Anakin, Petro, and Shadow.

"Okay, you want to hold your lightsaber tightly, so it can't be knocked out of your hands. But not too tightly because that makes you less adaptable."

Shadow held the Darksaber as Anakin showed him.

"Now there are seven different forms of lightsaber combat. Form one, Shii-cho. It's the most standard form. Every youngling at the Jedi Temple is taught this form first. Then there's form two, Makashi. Form three, Soresu. Form four, Ataru. Form five, Djem so. Form six, Niman. And form seven, Juyo. The seventh form is forbidden for most Jedi to study, but I have a feeling that one's going to be your favorite. We'll be starting with form one."

Shadow nodded.

"Okay, let's work on your stance."

* * *

Hours later, Anakin brought in some repurposed battle droids that were originally meant for training clones.

"Okay, let's see what you've learned."

Anakin activated the droids and they began firing at Shadow. He began deflecting their shots. Shadow then rushed towards them, slicing the first droid in half. Then as he came at another, he jumped up and curled up into a lightsaber buzz saw, ripping through three more droids. The last droid fired at him again and Shadow deflected the blast right back at it. The shot took the droid's head off, and its body fell to the ground.

"Not bad. Now let's see how you do when your opponent has a lightsaber of his own." Anakin ignited his blade.

"Hold on, what exactly prevents us from accidently slicing each other to pieces?"

"First off, there's no way you're going to beat me. Second, you've already survived being stabbed. I think you'll be fine. Now come on, show me what you got."

Shadow ran up to Anakin and swung at him. Anakin easily blocked the strike. Shadow attacked again and again. Anakin either blocked or sidestepped his swings. He then pushed Shadow back with the Force.

"I can see you're a fast learner."

Anakin then used the Force to pick up the broken droids that Shadow destroyed earlier and threw them at him. Shadow teleported and appeared behind Anakin. He sensed the hedgehog behind him and quickly spun around.

"Sneaky, but you're gonna have to do better. A Force-sensitive opponent can sense you."

Shadow fired a couple of Chaos Spears at him. While Anakin was blocking the shots, Shadow rushed up to him and kicked his lightsaber out of his hand. He then held his Darksaber an inch from Anakin's throat.

"No way I'm going to beat you, huh?"

"You got lucky. Also, don't forget that Force users can do this." Anakin summoned his lightsaber back to his hand. "However, your skills are impressive. That's enough for now. You should rest. You _are_ still injured."

Then the alarms started blaring. They ran out of the training room and into the hallway, where the clones were scrambling.

"What's going on?" Anakin shouted.

"We got an alert from the blockade! Separatist ships incoming!"

 _The Separatists? What are they doing here?_ _The clones are out of the war and the Republic has lost. Unless they somehow found out that Jedi are here. But how did they find us?_

But now was not the time for questions. Now is the time to fight.


	21. The Second Clone War

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

"Grievous has begun the attack on the clone blockade." The super tactical droid reported.

"Good. Now make sure that Grievous does not survive this battle."

"I do not see the advantage in eliminating our strongest military leader."

"His death will serve as a demonstration of how threatening Shadow and the clone army are."

Dooku ended his transmission. Kalani began thinking about the latest orders he had been given. Killing the Separatist Council and now Grievous, these things did not seem to benefit the Separatists at all. There was something Dooku wasn't telling him. But whatever it was, Kalani was sure it would all make sense in the end.

Kalani contacted Grievous. "New orders from Count Dooku. It is important that the clones desire a war with the Separatists. Cause as much damage as possible. Casualties are not an issue."

"I will make Kamino bleed."

* * *

Anakin, Shadow, and Petro entered the command center. Commander Wolffe was already in there, analyzing the enemy's attack.

Anakin fell back into the habit of command. "Wolffe, what's the situation?"

Wolffe responded equally habitually. "Looks like the Separatists brought a massive attack fleet."

"Attacking a neutral system that also has a massive blockade around it? What sense does that make?" Shadow asked.

"The Separatists have a habit of not caring who's neutral." Anakin explained.

"Yeah, but they've already won the war. What do they gain from this?"

"Maybe they found out that the remaining Jedi are hiding here."

"I knew we should have kicked you guys off this planet!" Wolffe snarled.

"Yeah, well, now it looks like you need us."

"We can handle this ourselves." Wolffe then looked back at the holodisplay of the battle and saw multiple Republic ships on fire. "What? How did they punch through our shields that fast?"

He soon got his answer as he saw multiple droid fighters crash into the bridge of another ship. The Separatists were purposely crashing their ships into the enemy in order to bring them down. They had always treated their forces like they were expendable, but never to this extreme.

"We need to take out those fighters." Wolffe stated.

"I'm on it!" Anakin volunteered and promptly ran off.

* * *

In the small meeting room the Jedi had claimed, Yoda continued speaking with the others. "Greatly concerned, I am. Pull Petro closer to the Dark Side, he might."

"Well, what else can we really do?" Ahsoka asked. "Besides, Petro has Anakin too."

"In dark times, easily corrupted, people are."

"We should make our decisions carefully." Obi-wan said. "This Shadow does not like us and neither do the clones. If they feel threatened by us, they might decide to try to kill us. We should consider ourselves lucky that they are letting us stay here at all. I think the best course of action is to wait and see what happens."

Outside the room, the younglings were listening to the conversation within.

"What'd he say? What'd he say?" Ganodi whispered excitedly.

"Shh! Quiet!" Zatt shushed her. "I think they're gonna let Shadow keep teaching Petro Dark Side stuff!"

The alarm started wailing. Gungi spoke in his growling, gurgling language.

"How should I know what's going on?"

The door then slid open. Ahsoka sprinted out of the room and past the younglings.

Obi-wan stood in the doorway and looked at the younglings. "If you're going to eavesdrop you might as well come in."

* * *

Anakin collected R2 and jumped in the starfighter he used to escape from Coruscant. Above Kamino, the battle was chaotic with thousands of ships blasting away at each other.

Anakin began taking out the enemy fighters as they tried to collide with the cruisers. Despite his efforts, the Separatists managed to create an opening. He then saw multiple Separatist landing ships making their way through the opening in the blockade. One of which seemed to be protected by a squad of vulture droids. Something important must be on that transport. Or maybe, _someone_ important.

"Grievous."

* * *

The landers began deploying droids to attack the cloning facility. Ahsoka and the clones rushed out to meet them. The droids and clones opened up a storm of blaster fire, and Ahsoka danced among the droids, slicing through them.

Out of one of transports came General Grievous. He stared at Ahsoka.

"Jedi? Here?"

"What? Didn't you follow us here?" Ahsoka asked, on guard.

Grievous ignored the question and ignited four lightsabers, Mace Windu's purple blade among them. Ahsoka found herself joined by Shadow and Petro, lightsabers ready.

"Go back inside Petro!"

"I can help! You saw what happened last time, I defeated him! Kind of."

Grievous approached, his blades whirling around him. Petro attempted to shoot him with Force Lightning, only for Grievous to block it. He tried again, with the same result.

"That little trick of yours won't work again."

Grievous jumped forward and attacked. His three opponents were forced onto the defensive.

"Get back, Petro!" Shadow ordered. "Wait for an opening!"

Petro obeyed and backed off. Grievous took note of Shadow's improved lightsaber skills. He must have found someone to train him. But Shadow's skills were still no match for his.

Suddenly, Ahsoka's comm started beeping.

"I'm kinda in the middle of something, Anakin!"

"I can see that. I need you to get away from Grievous. Right now."

"Why?"

"Oh, you'll see in a second."

Ahsoka, knowing that Anakin had another crazy stunt in mind, jumped back. Shadow was confused. Why had Ahsoka left him alone with Grievous? Then he saw the starfigher flying directly towards them at full speed. Quickly understanding the plan, he teleported away.

Grievous saw the ship too but didn't have enough time to move.

Anakin's ship hit Grievous and swooped back into the sky.

"That one's for the Jedi Council!"

Anakin's smile quickly faded as he noticed that Grievous's arms were latched onto his ship. He crawled onto the top of it and stared at Anakin through the windshield in shock and anger. Anakin started spinning the ship to try and throw him off. He pulled the ship into crazy loops and turns, showing Grievous why Obi-wan hated to fly with him.

However, Grievous's magnetic feet kept him firmly attached. He slowly started to make his way to the cockpit. Once he got to the cockpit, he ignited one of his four lightsabers and tried to stab Anakin through the windshield. Anakin jerked his head to the side, barely avoiding the blade.

"R2! I'm gonna need you to take the flight controls!"

Anakin then pulled out his lightsaber to block Grievous's second attack. Grievous jabbed at him again and again with Anakin barely blocking each attack. Anakin knew he wouldn't survive like this for long.

"R2, fly over the water and flip the ship upside down!"

Anakin opened the cockpit, which was now full of holes, and unclipped his seatbelt. He dropped out and R2 abandoned ship. The starfighter sailed into the water.

Anakin swam back to the surface and grabbed onto R2 to be towed back to land.

* * *

Ahsoka, Petro, and Shadow continued to slice though the droids while the clones picked them off from a distance. Obi-wan and Yoda then came outside to join the fight.

"What took you guys so long?" Ahsoka called to them.

"We had to make sure the younglings stayed out of- what is he doing here?"

"Helping." Petro said exasperated.

"You're not ready for warfare!"

"Sure, I am, watch!" Petro then shot a group of droids with Force Lightning.

"Stop using those powers!" Obi-wan scolded.

"He's using what he learned to his advantage. And yours." Shadow snapped at him.

"Guys, this is not the time!" Ahsoka reminded them.

She turned her attention back to the battlefield to see that the droids were no longer advancing, but instead falling back to their transports. Anakin climbed up the ladder and walked towards them.

Ahsoka ran over to him. "Okay, why were you in the water, where's your ship, and why did you hit Grievous with it instead of just shooting him?"

"Well, my guns overheated and hitting him with my ship seemed like the next best thing. Unfortunately, he hung onto the ship and I couldn't shake him off, so I crashed the ship into the ocean instead."

"So, where's Grievous?"

"Well, I'm sure that metal body of his doesn't float. So hopefully he's at the bottom of the ocean. Where are all the droids going?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "I don't know. It's looks like they just gave up. Kind of like what they did on Coruscant."

"Well that can't be a good sign."

"Wait! I see Grievous!" Ahsoka pointed at one of the pillars supporting a neighboring platform.

Grievous reached the platform and saw all the droids taking off back into space. "I did not order a retreat!" Grievous ran for the last remaining transport but it lifted off before he could get to it. "Get back here!" He pulled out his holoprojector and a hologram of Dooku appeared. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm afraid your services are no longer required, General, and the time has come for you to die."

Grievous crushed the holoprojector in rage.

"Looks like you've been left for dead."

Grievous turned around to see Shadow. The Jedi soon joined him. They all ignited their lightsabers.

Grievous quickly looked for a way to escape. There was nowhere but back into the water. He came to terms with the fact that this was the end. This was his final stand. But, before he died, he was going to take one last Jedi with him.

"Surrender, General." Obi-wan ordered. "There's nowhere for you to run this time."

Grievous ignited his four lightsabers. "Never."

He charged at them, engaging all of them in a high-speed duel. Ahsoka sliced off one of Grievous's arms. But he purposely let her do that, as it left her open for him to impale her through the chest.

Ahsoka crumpled. Anakin froze.

Obi-wan and Yoda cut off the other three arms. Shadow sliced off both of his legs. What was left of Grievous fell to the ground.

All eyes turned to Ahsoka. Anakin knelt down beside her.

"Ahsoka?"

Her body didn't move. She was already gone.

"No. No, NO!"

Grievous laughed victoriously on the ground.

Anakin stood up and marched over to him. "You!"

Grievous's laughter was cut off as he began to choke. Anakin raised his body off the ground as he pressed harder.

"Anakin!" Obi-wan said worriedly.

Lost in grief and rage, he kept choking Grievous.

"Anakin, stop!"

Anakin blocked him out, his hatred growing. He hadn't felt this much rage since the sand-people killed his mother.

He started applying pressure to Grievous's chest. His chest plate compressed around his internal organs. Grievous coughed and hacked uncontrollably. Blood started oozing out of the cracks in Grievous's crushed chest plate.

Obi-wan grabbed Anakin's shoulder. "Anakin! A Jedi never kills a defenseless opponent!"

Anakin screamed and clenched his fists. With a screech of metal, Grievous was reduced to a mangled pile of bloody machinery there on the platform.


	22. Memorial

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Secretly observing the gruesome death was a probe droid, transmitting footage for Kalani to watch. He then turned his attention to a hologram of Dooku.

"General Grievous is dead."

"Excellent, and what is the status of the clone army?"

"107 enemy ships have been destroyed. However, we experienced more casualties than we expected due to the arrival of the remaining Jedi."

Dooku's brows rose. "The Jedi? Working with the clones? Can you identify which Jedi they were?"

"I can. They were Anakin Skywalker, Obi-wan Kenobi, Grandmaster Yoda, Ahsoka Tano, and a young child I have never seen on any battlefield. Tano was killed by Grievous. The child displayed a most peculiar ability to shoot lighting from his hands, something I have never seen any Jedi do before."

"Interesting, but for the moment, irrelevant. For now, take the remaining droids to Geonosis to be scraped for parts."

The super tactical droid tried to process the orders he had been given. "Scrap the entire droid army!?"

"Yes. A new, superior army is being created as we speak. The only purpose this army has now is suppling parts to that project. When you get there, meet with the scientist Doctor Eggman. He will provide you with your next instructions."

Dooku ended his transmission, leaving the super tactical droid alone with his thoughts. First the Separatist Council, then Grievous, now the entire droid army. Everything about the Separatists was being changed, eliminated, or replaced. None of it made any sense. Why were all these sudden changes being made? What other changes would be made? Would he himself eventually be eliminated?

A battle droid commander entered the room. "Awaiting orders, sir."

Kalani was silent for a long moment. Finally, he gave his orders. "Send the fleet to these coordinates."

* * *

The Jedi, the younglings, R2, Rex, and Padme watched as Ahsoka's body was consumed by the incinerator. Anakin was silent and grim as he stared at the flames. Padme stood next to him, holding his hand. R2 puttered sadly at Anakin's feet. Obi-wan was standing a few feet away, unsure if he should say something or what the correct thing to say even was. Rex stood uncertainly. He had not attended that many funerals, but Ahsoka was his friend too, and he also wanted to support Anakin.

The younglings huddled in a corner, whispering to each other.

"He crushed his entire body with the Force." Petro described what happened to them. "It was super gross looking and amazing at the same time."

"Whoa, are you gonna learn how to do that?" Zatt asked.

"I hope so."

Yoda was watching Anakin, wondering what to do about his burst of rage. Even now he could sense its echoes as well as a deep sorrow.

Shadow came in and walked over to Anakin. "I know how you feel. You probably blame yourself for what happened. It's not your fault, and at least you got the guy who did it. I wish I could say the same. You have my condolences."

Anakin's breathing hitched, and a few tears escaped his eyes.

Yoda approached Anakin, feeling that he was ready to receive some advice. "Become one with the Force, young Tano has. Let go, you must. Forming attachments, the Jedi way this is not."

Anakin quickly turned to face Yoda, eyes full of rage once again. "The Jedi way? Look where the Jedi way has got us! Everyone's dead! The Republic is gone! And now the Sith are in control of the galaxy!" The tears were flowing freely now. "Was lying to me about Obi-wan being dead part of the Jedi way?" Obi-wan cringed. "Was not trusting Ahsoka and driving her away part of the Jedi way? Is using a slave army the Jedi way? Is not being able to find a Sith Lord when he's standing right in front of you the Jedi way?"

Yoda couldn't argue with Anakin's complaints. There was no doubt that he as well as the rest of the Jedi Council had made critical mistakes. Yoda thought deeply about everything that had happened during the Clone Wars.

"No. The Jedi way, it was not. Lost our way, the Jedi have. Unknown to us, corrupted by the politics of war, we had been. Served the senate instead of the Force, we did. Failed, the Jedi Order has. Failed, I have. Perhaps the destruction of the Jedi Order, needed it was. Fail, we needed to. Learn from this failure, we can. Become better, we can."

Anakin blinked and abruptly turned back to face the incinerator.

"Nice to know you're finally learning something." Shadow looked at Rex. "There's going to be a memorial service for all the clones that died tomorrow."

Rex was surprised. "A funeral? For the clones?"

"Let me guess, no clone has ever been given a real funeral before."

"No, their bodies were taken back to Kamino to have their DNA salvaged. The rest of us just had to keep going."

Shadow sighed. "Of course, that's what they did. Then we'll expand this memorial to include every clone that has ever died."

* * *

C-3PO was having a bad time. First, the Separatists attacked Coruscant and defeated the Republic. Then his mistress Padme and master Ani had disappeared. Then he'd been accosted by some ruffian Separatist droids and hustled off. C-3PO had tried to explain to them that he belonged with some very important people who would surely be missing him, but they wouldn't listen.

Now he was on Geonosis being leered at by a very rude mustachioed man.

"Three medical droids, two astromechs, and a protocol droid." Eggman entered figures on a datapad.

"Excuse me sir." C-3PO spoke up. "I would like to know what is going on here."

Eggman turned to him. "Well if you must know, I am going to scrap you for parts, so I can build my new army."

"Oh dear! Scraped for parts!" C-3PO quickly started thinking about how he could get out of this situation. "I assure you I can serve in a greater capacity than merely providing spare parts."

Eggman ignored him and ordered the Geonoisians to take him and the rest of the droids away. C-3PO looked for an opportunity to prove his usefulness.

"The Geonoisians, can you understand what they say? I can translate for you."

"I'm afraid I already have a translator." Eggman pointed to a silver protocol droid standing in the corner.

"Are you sure that droid is up to the task? Because I can assure you that droid is an outdated model."

This got Eggman's attention. "Really?"

"Oh yes! The TC-14s were discontinued a long time ago."

"Well, in that case," He shoved the silver protocol droid into the arms of the Geonoisians. "Take that one to be scraped and give me the gold one."

C-3PO had slightly exaggerated his story. The TC-14s were discontinued… about a month ago. Luckily, his new master didn't know that.

"Okay, let's test you out." Eggman turned to another Geonoisian. "Where is that last shipment of old battle droids? Sidious told me he was sending the fleet over here!"

The Geonoisian made several clicking noises.

"Well? What did he say?"

"He says the fleet still hasn't arrived and that they should have been here an hour ago."

"Well, somebody try to contact them! We're falling behind schedule here! Come on, translator we've got work to do."

C-3PO followed Eggman, relieved that he had managed to talk his way out of that situation. Unfortunately, now he was going to be forced to work for this horrible and quite frankly, repulsive man.

* * *

Rex entered the cell Cody was being held in.

"You doing okay?"

Cody was sitting on his bunk, staring at the wall. He kept staring at it as he responded to Rex. "Why are we letting them stay here? After what they did to us? Why didn't you let me kill him?"

"I don't think that's what you really want. You want your friend Kenobi."

"Our friendship wasn't real. It was all lies and mind control!"

"No, not all of it. When I first got my chip removed, I thought everything was going to be different. But it wasn't. My thoughts on the war were the same, my relationship with General Skywalker was the same, and General Kenobi was the same. They might have been controlling our minds the whole time, but not everything was a lie. General Kenobi is still your friend."

Cody sat in silence, still staring at the wall.

"If you've at least calmed down enough to not try shooting anyone, we're holding a memorial service for all our fallen brothers."

* * *

Shadow stood at a podium in front of a massive room of clones. Since there were so many clones and the room wasn't big enough for all of them, they were split up into different sessions by legion. Each legion would come in and mourn the loss of members of that legion. It was going to be a long process that would probably take days, but Shadow knew that this was something that needed to be done.

Shadow began the service. "Today we're here to do something that the Republic never bothered to do. Give a proper funeral service to the clones who died in a violent conflict they were forced to fight in. Many of whom died before they were even given a real name. But today we are going honor those men. Every. Single. Last. One of them. Because every one of their lives mattered."

* * *

On the second day of the long clone memorial service, Shadow was listing off the fallen members of the 212th. Cody was sitting in the front row with Rex beside him. Then the doors in the back of the room opened and Obi-wan Kenobi entered.

Shadow paused for a moment and looked at him. "What do you want?"

All the clones turned and glared at Obi-wan.

He did not let the looks intimidate him. "I have something I want to say."

"Well make it quick." Shadow told him.

Obi-wan walked past all the angry faces up to the podium. Cody was about to get out of his chair, but Rex put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hear him out."

Obi-wan stood at the podium and cleared his throat. "I can see that most of you are not happy to see me, and I don't blame you. The use of a clone army was unethical and the Jedi Order, me included, failed to see that. We wanted so badly to protect the Republic that we didn't actually think about the people who died protecting it. You all should have had the right to make your own choices, but you didn't. Every aspect of your life was decided for you. The Jedi should have done something about this, but we didn't. And you have every right to hate us for it. I am deeply, deeply sorry."

Obi-wan saw Cody sitting in the front row. He pulled out a blaster pistol and walked towards him.

"I lead the 212th legion. Everyone in this legion that died, died because of me." Obi-wan stood in front of Cody and dropped the blaster into his hands. "If you truly want to kill me, then do it."

Rex stood up. "General, I don't think you're thinking clearly."

"I'm not a general, I'm a peacekeeper. A peacekeeper who failed to do his job."

Cody lifted the blaster and pointed it at Obi-wan's head.

"Hold on, think about this for a second!"

Obi-wan ignored Rex and waited for Cody to decide. Cody's hand began to shake. Tears filled his eyes.

Cody dropped the blaster and hugged his friend.


	23. Live and Learn

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The Jedi, the clone commanders, and Shadow were all in a room together discussing the Separatist attack from a few days ago.

"What do they have to gain from fighting us?" Rex asked.

"And why did the fleet leave like that? On Coruscant they stayed nearby, but now they've left the system entirely." Cody added.

"They also left Grievous behind." Obi-wan pointed out. "And I fought him enough times to know he never enters a battle without an escape plan."

"They wanted us to kill him." Shadow stated. "Somehow, it benefits them."

"How does killing their best Jedi hunter benefit them?" Obi-wan questioned. "And if they wanted him dead, why didn't Dooku do it himself?"

"Deceptive, our enemies are. Create the Clone Wars, Palpatine did." Yoda reminded them. "Trying to start another war he may be."

"So, they attacked us to draw us into another war." Rex summarized. "That still leaves the question of why they would want their general dead."

"If it's a fight they want, it's a fight they're gonna get." Wolffe's voice was hard with anger.

"Slow down! You're not equipped for an all-out war." Obi-wan cautioned.

"What are you talking about?" Wolffe demanded indignantly. "We are an entire military force!"

"Yes, but you're a military force with no financial backing and no allies." Obi-wan countered. "What are you going to do when the ships and weapons you have need to be replaced?"

Commander Gree threw up his hands. "Well if we aren't going to fight them what will we do? Wait for them to come back and keep whittling us down?"

"We are going to fight, but we are going to need to choose our battles wisely."

"If these two Sith guys are behind everything, then all we need to do is take them out." Shadow declared.

"Know their locations, we do not. Patient, we must be. Wait for the Sith's next move, we will."

The meeting ended, and Shadow went to find Petro. He was at their table in the cafeteria with his friends.

"Okay, lunch time's over, back to work. You guys can hang out with Petro later."

"But we want to listen too!" Katooni protested.

"Why?"

"We want to learn about cool powers too." Ganodi explained.

"I'm not teaching 'cool powers', I'm teaching how to use them the right way. And since you don't have those powers, I have nothing to teach you."

"But what if we did learn those powers?" Zatt asked.

"If you do that, everyone's going to look at you like you're a time bomb. Is that something you want?"

Byph spoke in a language incomprehensible to Shadow.

"What did he say?"

Gungi growled something equally intelligible.

Shadow facepalmed. "Can someone who speaks English translate what he said?"

"He wants to know why you're bothering to teach me at all." Petro explained.

"Because reasons. Now get out of here." Shadow shooed the other younglings away and sat next to Petro.

"Okay, lesson three. Don't expect to be seen as a hero. Even when you do good things, people won't always see it that way. You experienced this already when you saved Obi-wan's life and got locked in prison for it. Most people have the habit of being paranoid and stupid when it comes to things that are different. They'll fear the power you possess, misunderstand your intentions, and will flat out not trust you at all. This may lead to some people trying to kill you."

"So, should I kill those people first?"

"No. For one, that would be a lot of people. Two, that would make them feel justified in their distrust of you, leading to even more people you would have to kill. Don't kill them unless they try to kill you first. I said these types of people are stupid. Not all of them are actually going to be evil. Hopefully over time common sense will kick in, and people will realize you're there to help them, not hurt them."

"Do you think Obi-wan will ever understand that?" Petro asked.

"I think he will." Shadow assured him. "Last lesson. Never be a mindless follower. Follow your own moral code not someone else's. Don't mindlessly follow the Jedi, the Sith, your friends, or even me. Question everything."

"Why?"

"Yes, good. Because if you let other people make your decisions for you, you could easily end up accidently doing terrible things. People will see your power and want to use it for their own selfish interests. Therefore, it's important to choose your own path."

"How do I know if the path I choose is the right one?"

"You don't. The best thing you can do is trust your instincts and do what you think is the right thing to do."

"Well if that's all the lessons…" Petro started to get up.

"Hold on, we're not done yet."

"But you said that was the last lesson."

"It was. You want to know why I taught you? You see the lessons I taught you, are lessons I learned through my unfortunate life experiences. What I did for you is what I wish someone would have done for me. It would have saved me a lot of pain and a lot of mistakes. Ever since I was born, people have feared me. They feared my power and what I might do with it. Everyone wanted to either kill me or use me to get what they wanted. I wasn't a person to them. They only saw a monster. Even to this day, there's only two people I can really trust. Everyone else back home is probably celebrating the fact that I disappeared. Boy, will they be disappointed when I get back."

"Then why do you want to go back? The clones love you."

"They do, but pretty soon they're not going to need anything from me. And all those idiots back home still need me."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Shadow was alone in the training room, practicing with his lightsaber. Anakin didn't seem like he was in the mood for training today and Shadow didn't want to bother him while he was still mourning the loss of Ahsoka.

He wasn't alone for long, however, as the door slid open and Obi-wan came in. "Practicing your swordsmanship, I see?"

"What do you want?"

"I'm just here to relieve a little stress with a good workout."

"You can have that half of the room, I'll be on this half."

"Perhaps we could train together?" Obi-wan suggested.

"You mean spar?"

"Yes. If I know Anakin, he taught you mostly how to attack. Perhaps I can teach you a thing or two about defense."

"Sure, why not?"

Obi-wan ignited his saber and they began sparing.

"You know when you gave Cody that gun and told him he could kill you? That was very stupid. I'm going to be honest, part of me kind of wanted him to shoot you for coming up such a stupid idea. What do you think that would have done to Anakin? He's already broken up over losing Ahsoka."

Obi-wan blocked a strike aimed at his knees. "Yeah, thinking about it now, it probably wasn't my smartest move. I just felt like I needed to do something. Make something right."

Shadow ducked a jab at his ear. "That's easier if you're still alive." He attempted to get in closer. "Was the Jedi Order this stupid before the war?"

Obi-wan fended him off with his longer reach. "Well I suppose if we weren't the Clone Wars wouldn't have happened."

"Were the Jedi _ever_ smart?"

Shadow kept probing at Obi-wan's defenses but could not find a way through.

"Well, according to the Jedi's history, they did wipe out the old Sith Empire. Of course, the Sith secretly survived. But I wasn't around back in those older times, so I don't know about the details."

"Has anyone else ever called out the stupidity of the Jedi Order?"

"Well, yes. Count Dooku did in fact. He was once one of the greatest Jedi in the Order. But he became fed up with the senate's corruption and the Council's decisions and just left. He then became the leader of the Separatist Alliance and fell to the Dark Side."

"Interesting. The smartest Jedi is the one fighting to destroy you."

"At the very beginning of the war he told me that the Sith controlled the Republic, but I didn't believe him."

"But it turned out that everything he said was true, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Dooku was probably laughing at our incompetence throughout the entire war. He's probably still laughing at us now."

* * *

Dooku went to bring his master the latest report on the progress of the plan. "The plan is working perfectly my lord. The random attacks from the Shadow Android have the galaxy absolutely terrified."

"And what of the real Shadow and the clones?"

"They still have yet to retaliate."

"Hmm… perhaps a second attack is in order to get the point across."

"I will send the new army there now."

"That will not be necessary. I will do it myself."

Dooku looked at Sidious in surprise. Before he could say anything, his master shot him with Force Lightning. Dooku screamed and blacked out.

He woke up, who knows how long later, strapped to a table. Sidious was standing over him.

"Master, what are you doing?"

"The Republic lost the war. Chancellor Palpatine has no power. You're the one in control of everything now, and I can't have that."

"You think you can just kill me and waltz in as the new leader of the Separatists?"

Sidious cackled. "Oh, you'll still be the leader of the Separatists, as far as the rest of the galaxy will know. See, there is an ancient Sith technique to transfer one's essence into another living body. _You_ will die, but your body will live on with me in control."

Dooku knew he had to think fast. He needed to find a way to distract Sidious if he was going to escape. He looked around the room to see what he had to work with. There was a Magna Guard standing in the corner. It was most likely there to undo the restraints once Sidious had taken over his body. It could be something Dooku could use, but not with Sidious in the room.

He then looked to the other side of the room and saw an alarm switch on the wall. It would make for a great distraction, but he would have to make sure Sidious didn't know he was the one who triggered it. Dooku needed his mind to be focused on something else.

"How could you do this?" Dooku demanded. "We were supposed to rule the galaxy together!"

"Actually, we weren't. I never intended to keep you as my apprentice. I had intended to replace you from the very beginning. I had someone even more powerful in mind."

"Skywalker." It was obvious to Dooku now. Sidious would have nothing but the best.

Sidious was angry now "Yes. I was so close to turning him, but that hedgehog went and ruined everything! But, no matter. Sooner or later I will find a suitable replacement and then-"

The alarm started wailing.

A mixture of anger and confusion washed across Sidious's face. "Now what?"

Sidious left the room to go see what the alarm was ringing for, leaving Dooku alone with the droid. He was relieved that his plan had worked so far, but he still needed to get out of his restraints. The droid would probably only remove the restraints if given a certain code, but it could still be useful to him.

Dooku focused on the droid and lifted it up with the Force. He quickly pulled it towards him, smashing its body against his restraints. After several hits, the restraints finally broke.

Then the alarm stopped blaring.

Sidious had realized it was a false alarm and was now surely coming back. Dooku ran as fast as he could, out of the room and down the hallway towards the docking bay. As he got to his ship, he heard his former master's voice yelling at the other Magna Guards to stop him.

Dooku fired up the engines and rocketed out of the docking bay.


	24. A Sith Lord in Need

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Yoda was outside on the landing platform, enjoying one of the few days on Kamino when it wasn't raining. He stared off into the sky, meditating, hoping to discover an answer to their predicament. Never before had he ever felt so lost.

But then he felt something. A presence.

A familiar presence.

He looked up and saw a ship appear seemingly from nowhere and descend upon the platform. Yoda already knew who it was. He watched as his former apprentice exited the ship.

"Count Dooku."

"Master Yoda."

* * *

"If all you're doing is defending, then your opponent is focused only on attacking and that leaves them vulnerable."

Obi-wan rained blows on Shadow, and the hedgehog blocked as he'd been instructed. He saw what Obi-wan meant about being left vulnerable when he saw and took an opportunity to kick him in the shin.

"Owww! Not exactly elegant, but I guess that works."

They then heard Yoda's voice over the intercom. "Skywalker, Kenobi. Come to the conference room, you must. Now."

"What's going on now?" Shadow asked.

"I don't know. Maybe master Yoda's thought of a solution."

They walked towards the conference room and met up with Anakin in the hallway.

"Are you doing okay?" Obi-wan asked.

"I'm fine."

The Force told Obi-wan otherwise. He still felt a great imbalance inside of him, but hopefully Yoda had some good news that would lighten his mood.

But when they entered the conference room, his jaw hit the floor.

There at the table, Yoda and Count Dooku sat together. Several seconds of shocked silence passed, before being shattered as Anakin screamed in rage and leapt for Dooku with his lightsaber extended. The blue blade was halted inches from Dooku's throat.

Anakin tried to keep moving the blade forward, but his arm was frozen in place. He looked to the side and saw that Yoda was the one who stopped him.

"What are you doing? That's Count Dooku!"

"Come to us as an enemy, Dooku has not."

"How do you know? He's lying! Sith are liars!" Anakin screamed.

Dooku remained as cool as a cucumber. "Would you at least like to hear what I have to say before you call me a liar?"

"You better have something real important to say."

"I need your help."

"Help? In what galaxy would we ever help you?"

"Trust me, I'm not anymore happy about this than you are. I'm here because you are my only option."

Obi-wan finally got over his surprise enough to say something. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I'll gladly explain as soon as Skywalker gets his lightsaber out of my face."

The lightsaber was pulled out of Anakin's hand and into Yoda's. "Continue."

"You're all now well aware of my… master. His grand plan involved the Republic winning the war. His plan was to use the war to gain more and more power as Chancellor and eventually turn the Republic into a powerful galactic empire. But then, when the Republic's entire military force up and abandoned him, he was forced to change his plans so that the Separatists won the war."

"Get to the point." Anakin grumbled, crossing his arms.

"But he was not the leader of the Separatists. I was. And there was no way the Separatists would accept the Chancellor of the Republic as emperor. I was the only one who could take that role. Unfortunately, Sidious knew that I would be the one with all the power, so he tried to posses my body. Luckily, I managed to escape. Now technically, I could ruin Sidious's plan myself, but if I did, that would surely lead to him killing me. If I exposed his plan to the galaxy, he'd dedicate his life to hunting me down. Which, of course, does not benefit me at all. Sidious is probably looking for me right now before I decide to let all this sensitive information out anyway. And I know if he finds me I will not be powerful enough to defeat him alone. As much as I hate to admit it, you're the only ones powerful enough to help me."

"Interesting." Anakin said. "One question though. Why should we believe anything you say?"

"If you bothered to think the answer would be obvious. I have come alone, unarmed, and I'm putting myself in a situation where you could easily kill me. If I had literally any other option, I wouldn't be here."

"Anakin, I think we should trust him." Obi-wan stated.

"Are you seriously falling for this?" Anakin yelled.

"Anakin, what would be the point of him tricking us?"

"To lure us into a trap!"

"He could have done that without coming here in person, and so far, he has yet to tell us to even go anywhere. If the whole point is just to kill us, why not just send the droids here? When was the last time Dooku put himself into a dangerous situation like this?" Obi-wan questioned.

"Even if he is telling the truth, why should we help him?" Anakin demanded.

"I can provide you with valuable information about Sidious."

"Information like what?"

"Like that he's planning another attack on Kamino with an all new droid army."

"What is this new army like?" Obi-wan asked.

"He's found a new scientist from a faraway world. A scientist who's quite familiar with you, Shadow."

Shadow, who'd been listening quietly this whole time, was surprised "This scientist, is he tall and fat with a big mustache?"

"Yes, and also rather annoying."

"Eggman."

"Know him, do you?" Yoda inquired.

"Yeah, he's the one that built the machine that blew up and sent me here remember? Looks like the explosion sent him here too. And if he's the one building an army for Sidious, then that's a major problem. Back home, the local military force was completely helpless against his war machines and that was when he was doing everything all by himself. With the resources he has access to now, there's practically no limit to what he's able to build." Shadow pronounced grimly.

"There are already hundreds of thousands of troops ready to go. He's extremely efficient." Dooku added.

"And you said another attack is coming, right?"

"Yes, he wants the clones to fight back against the Separatists in another clone war. I'm sure you've heard of the other attacks going on in the galaxy?"

"Other attacks?" Obi-wan furrowed his brow in confusion. "No, we haven't heard anything like that at all."

"Really? Have you not been watching the holonet news?"

They all looked at each other. They had been so concerned with recent problems that it had not occurred to them to look at the news. They immediately turned on the Holonews Network.

"Coruscant has once again been struck in another terrorist attack by the mysterious creature known only as Shadow."

They then cut to footage of a burning hospital. Shadow could be seen beating a patient to death with the head of medical droid.

Everyone turned to look at Shadow.

"Just what have you been doing in your spare time?" Obi-wan asked incredulously.

"That's not me you idiot, I've been here this whole time! That's got to be one of Eggman's Shadow Androids."

"Shadow Androids?" Anakin asked.

"Yeah, he's used them before. They're made with a combination of robot parts and my DNA."

"It looks so… real." Anakin said almost admiringly.

"Yes, they are very realistic. Even fooled me the first time I saw them."

The news reel continued. "The origins of this creature are still unknown. However, it does appear to be leading the clone army that went rogue a couple weeks ago."

Cut to figures in clone armor shooting people as they ran out of the hospital.

"It looks like he made a few Clone Androids too." Shadow remarked.

"No, look at how there're moving." Anakin pointed at the screen. The clones' movements were ever so slightly stiff and unnatural. "Those are droids inside that armor."

Dooku applauded slowly. "So, you are capable of being observant."

Anakin moved, there was a dull clang, and then Dooku was on the floor holding his face.

"You deserved that." Shadow told him.

Obi-wan wanted to tell Anakin that what he did was wrong, but he was just a little bit too amused by it. Yoda just sighed in disappointment.

Dooku got back up now sporting an impressive black eye. _Ironic. I cut off his hand, and he punches me with its metal replacement. The Force does have a sense of humor._

The news broadcast continued. "However, Count Dooku assures us that he has a plan."

The image of Dooku standing at a podium before a large crowd appeared.

"Did Eggman make an Android out of you too? Those take a while to make, and you only just got here."

"No, that footage was prerecorded. But I'm sure that Sidious is working on making an Android of me right now."

"How do we know that you're not an Android?" Anakin asked suspiciously.

"He's not an Android." Shadow told him. "Androids don't feel pain and he was clearly in pain when you decked him."

"People of the galaxy, do not be afraid! The Separatist senate has granted me emergency powers and I shall use them to construct a new army that is larger and stronger!"

The curtain was raised behind him, revealing six egg pawns.

"Those are definitely Eggman's handiwork." Shadow commented.

"These droids will ensure that no system is threated by these terrorists again!"

"Well this sounds familiar." Obi-wan said with a grimace.

The news ended, and they shut off the viewscreen.

"Well that's enough fake news for now." Shadow looked at Dooku. "So, tell me… about…"

The color drained from Shadow's muzzle and he collapsed.

"Oh no, not this again."


	25. Self-Interest

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Anakin grabbed Obi-wan's arm and began dragging him out of the room.

"What are you doing, Anakin?"

"We have to get out of here!"

"Why?"

Meanwhile, Yoda was checking on Shadow.

"You're not going to want to be that close to him, trust me!"

Anakin finally succeeded in getting everybody out of the room.

"Okay, Anakin, we're out. Now what's going on?"

"Let's just say every time this happens it ends with the whole room being destroyed."

And then Shadow started screaming.

* * *

 _Shadow once again found himself in an empty void. Sidious was there, but he didn't look sadistically happy like before. Now he was clearly annoyed._

 _"You know. How do you know?"_

 _Shadow put on a false air of bravado even though there was no point to it. "You mean your plan to take over the galaxy? Or your mind trick?"_

 _"Both."_

 _Sidious then proceeded to search through Shadow's recent memories, sending waves of pain and fear throughout Shadow's head._

 _"No!"_

 _Shadow tried desperately to move, to do something, anything! But he was frozen, and the pain only increased._

 _"You're only hurting yourself, you know, struggling like that. Ah, here we go! It looks like you found my runaway apprentice. But he's not the one who told you about what I'm doing here. Let's see…"_

 _Shadow stopped hearing Sidious's voice._

* * *

A blurry image of Dooku's face appeared before Shadow. Instinctively, he lashed out and struck at the face in front of him. Voices called to him and hands grabbed at him, trying to hold him back. He struggled, pulled himself free from one set of hands.

Then he noticed something odd about Dooku's face. There was a bruise there, one he hadn't inflicted. Then he remembered. Anakin did that. The voices began to make sense.

"You're okay! Stop! Everything's all right!"

Shadow stopped fighting. He went limp, trembling in Anakin and Obi-wan's hands.

Yoda picked himself up from where he'd been flung against the wall. Dooku dabbed at a split lip.

"What just happened?" Obi-wan asked.

"Sidious. He's been attacking Shadow's mind." Anakin explained.

"And when were you going to tell us?"

"I didn't think he wanted anyone else to know. He had a hard enough time telling me."

The other Force users became aware of the humiliation emanating from Shadow, who was hastily wiping the tears from his eyes.

"If that is the case, then he is coming." Dooku announced.

"What do you mean he's coming?" Obi-wan demanded.

"He knows I'm here. He saw it in Shadow's memories."

"He can see his memories?"

"He can see everything. Sidious has access to all of the information in Shadow's brain. He's on his way here right now."

Petro ran in. "I sensed that Shadow was in p- Dooku!"

"Calm yourself." Yoda assured him. "Not a threat, he is."

"But we can't be too sure." Anakin countered.

"So… why is he here?"

"He claims his master betrayed him." Obi-wan explained.

"But we're not entirely convinced."

"But some of the information he's given us does seem to check out."

"But not all of it."

"Dooku, that thing you did, pushing Sidious out of my head, does that mean you can keep him out permanently?" Shadow asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"I'm afraid not. His power far exceeds my own."

"Then how were you able to push him out just now?" Anakin asked suspiciously.

"I was able to push him out temporarily. He could easily go back inside if he wanted to. If you want to truly be rid of Sidious, you must sever the connection he made with your mind."

"Connection?"

"When he captured you, he made a connection with your mind through the Force. If you want me to sever said connection, I'm going to need help from someone else."

"Well surely one of these Jedi-"

"I'm afraid the Jedi will be of no help to you. Only someone trained in the Dark Side will know how to sever the connection and these Jedi prefer to believe the Dark Side doesn't exist. But perhaps if someone here were willing to study the Dark Side, then maybe we could help you."

"Use the Dark Side, we will not!" Yoda burst out in a rare display of anger.

Petro raised his hand. "I know a little about the Dark Side."

Dooku's brows rose. "Do you now?"

"No! Absolutely not!" Obi-wan declared.

"But he said it's the only thing that could help Shadow!"

"He is a lying Sith Lord!" Anakin shouted.

The alarms began to ring.

"The invasion fleet is here." Dooku pronounced grimly. "And Sidious can't be too far behind."

Obi-wan took charge. "Master Yoda, take Dooku down to the prison."

Yoda returned Anakin's lightsaber and escorted Dooku away while Anakin ran off to go fight droids.

"Anything important we should know about these droids?" Obi-wan asked.

"I can you that their aim is a lot better than the droids you're used to fighting. Eggman's been trying to hit high-speed targets for years, so he's been improving their accuracy as much as possible."

"Well this should be interesting then."

* * *

Yoda lead Dooku down the hallway towards the prison.

"I won't be much help to you behind bars."

"An enemy of Sidious, you may be. But here only for your self-interest, you are."

"Do you still remember why I left the Jedi Order? All the corruption in the senate? The Jedi Council's poor decisions?"

Yoda was silent.

"At the time, you regarded my decision as a mistake."

Yoda still did not respond.

"So, what do you think of my decision now? Now that you've discovered the truth."

Yoda stopped walking.

"Perhaps if you had listened to me, none of this would have happened."

"Wrong the Jedi might have been, but make you right, it does not. In the same position, we both are."

Dooku quickly spun around and shot lightning from his fingertips. Pain shot through Yoda's body as he fell.

"Well, unlike you I have a plan to change that."

Yoda struggled to get back up as Dooku took off running.

* * *

When they arrived outside, their eyes were met with the sight of a massacre. Egg Pawns were everywhere, and clones were dropping like flies.

"Okay everyone, split up!" Obi-wan ordered. "Protect the entrances! Don't let them get inside!"

Obi-wan guarded the north entrance. Anakin guarded the south entrance. Shadow guarded the southwest entrance. Petro was watching the east entrance until Yoda could get there. The robots seemed to figure out that he was the weak link. More and more of them came in his direction.

Petro tried his best to defend but missed a shot that hit his left shoulder. He tried to keep going, but another shot hit his right hand and caused him to drop his lightsaber. He desperately shot Force Lightning at the encroaching robots and took out three of them, but dozens more kept coming.

A third shot hit Petro's stomach and he went down. He lay on the ground, thinking that he was about to die. One of the robots walked up to him and pointed its gun at his head.

But then a powerful lighting blast hit the droid and several others. Petro looked behind him to see Count Dooku, blasting lighting all around him. He was amazed at this display of power. The robots began to fall back, returning to their transport ships. The attack was over, and the droids were leaving, just like before. But this time the fleet remained in orbit.

"Your powers are strong child, but not quite strong enough. I can teach you the true power of the Force. But first, we must leave this place before my master finds me."

* * *

Shadow watched the droid ships fly back into the sky. But then he heard a voice in his head.

" _Shadow…"_

"Get out of my head!" Shadow hissed.

" _Well, how about we make a deal then? I'll leave your mind alone if you bring me Count Dooku."_

"How do I know that you'll hold up your end of the bargain?"

" _Once I have Dooku, I will have little reason for going into your mind."_

"You were in my mind well before you lost him."

" _I was torturing you for ruining my master plan. Now, I could continue to torture you for resisting me, or you could help me. Collect all your little emeralds and go home. Now, whether or not you accept my offer means very little to me. I could easily come down there and get Dooku myself, but I sense potential in you. So, the choice is yours, you can help me and go home, or suffer forever."_

"So, what you're saying is that you want me to be another one of your disposable pawns? Like Maul? And Grievous? And Dooku? And the clones? And probably countless other people? Hell! No!"

" _That's very disappointing. Then I'll be seeing you shortly."_

Shadow was about to go warn the others when he saw Dooku carrying Petro towards his ship. He quickly teleported over there.

"Aren't you supposed to be locked up? And what happened to Petro?"

"If I stay here, I'll die. And Petro needs to learn more about the Dark Side if we're going to get Sidious out of your head."

"That doesn't tell me why Petro's unconscious."

Dooku looked at the sky and saw an approaching landing shuttle.

"I'm afraid I don't have time for this conversation."

He quickly zapped Shadow with a powerful blast of Force Lightning. Remembering how Shadow had shrugged it off before he made sure to keep it up until the hedgehog passed out, then picked him up.


	26. The True Lord of the Sith

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The three Jedi regrouped.

Yoda was grave. "Lost Dooku, I have."

Anakin jabbed a finger at him. "I told you we couldn't trust him!"

They then felt a dark, cold presence. They looked towards it and saw a shuttle landing.

Obi-wan stated the obvious. "He's here."

Anakin spoke with grim determination. "Good, now we can cut off the head of the snake."

"Wait, Anakin." Obi-wan cautioned. "He knows we're here. He wouldn't face us if he didn't think he could win."

"Well, what's your plan then?"

"I think we should evacuate. We'll keep him occupied while the clones escape. And someone find Shadow. We're gonna need him for this."

The ship opened up and a dark, cloaked figure walked down the exit ramp. The three Jedi ignited their lightsabers.

Obi-wan spoke into his commlink, "Cody, you need to evacuate everyone, now!"

"Evacuate where? The new fleet has the planet surrounded!"

"We're gonna have to fight our way out!"

The clones boarded the cruisers and took off for space.

Sidious reached the Jedi.

"Ah, Anakin, my old friend."

"You!" Anakin snarled. "You lied to me! You lied to everyone! You started this entire war! Was anything that you ever said real?"

"I had big plans for you, Anakin. We could've done great things together. But I can see now that that is no longer possible. And now you must die."

Sidious ignited his lightsaber.

* * *

Shadow woke up in a small ship. He tried to get up only to find that his legs were chained up, as well as his arms. He crawled over to the door.

It was locked.

There was another door on the opposite side of the room.

It was locked too.

Shadow could use Chaos Blast to destroy the chains and the door but damaging the ship might not be a good idea. There were no windows so he couldn't tell if they were in space or not.

He carefully searched the small space he was in, but he couldn't find anything useful. Including the Chaos Emeralds or the Darksaber.

Panic was threatening, but Shadow made himself focus to see if he could feel the Emeralds nearby. There! They were close, on the other side of one of the doors.

He went over to the door and began slamming his fists against it. When he stopped, there was a decent sized dent in the door. His hands were throbbing, but he had nothing else to do and it had helped him feel a little better, so he attacked the door again.

Suddenly, he heard the door behind him slide open, a warm breeze brushed up against his back. He quickly turned around to see Petro standing in the doorway, a concerned look on his face. Behind him, Shadow caught a glimpse of a barren landscape before Petro came in and closed the door behind him.

"Are you okay?"

"What's going on? Where are we? And why am I chained up?"

"About that… Dooku says I can't tell you." Petro said apologetically.

"What? Why?"

"Because anything you know, Sidious will know."

"Can you at least tell me why you were unconscious when Dooku carried you away?"

"Oh, that. I got shot a couple times."

Shadow looked at him sharply. "Shouldn't you be getting medical attention or something if you got shot?"

"Shouldn't you have gotten medical attention when you got stabbed?" Petro shot back.

"I did!"

"No, you blew up the bacta tank and said everything was fine."

"Whatever. Do you at least feel okay?" Shadow studied Petro intently.

"I'm okay. Dooku patched me up."

"I see. Well, can you take these chains off me and give me the Chaos Emeralds back at least?"

"Dooku said that if those Emeralds make you more powerful, then it's better to keep them away from you so that if you have another freak-out you won't cause as much damage."

"I'm pretty sure I'm still capable of rendering this ship unflyable."

The exit door opened again and Dooku entered the ship.

"What are you doing? I told you to meditate!"

"I was, but then I heard a lot of banging going on inside the ship." Petro explained.

Dooku looked severely at Shadow. "Did you see anything outside?"

"Just dirt and rocks."

"Well, that shouldn't be enough for Sidious to go off of. What did Petro tell you?"

"Not much of anything. Just that you want me ignorant and helpless." Shadow's tone was slightly accusatory.

"Precisely. Sidious has access to all the memories in your head. Anything you know, he knows. Even if you do not recognize a planet, Sidious still might."

"Speaking of memories, why is my last memory one of you shooting me with lightning?"

"Rendering you unconscious was the easiest way to keep you from learning anything. I would keep you sedated if I could."

Shadow then noticed that Dooku was carrying the Darksaber.

"And your purpose for taking that away from me is?"

"I was in need of a new lightsaber. And I can guarantee I can put it to better use than you."

Shadow growled at Dooku's smug attitude.

"Now then, Petro and I need to resume training. You stay here and do absolutely nothing."

Dooku turned to leave, but Shadow spoke up again.

"I still have one more question. What happened to everyone else on Kamino?"

"I'm afraid there was no saving them. There was no way for them to escape."

"We escaped."

"That is because my ship has a cloaking device."

"So, what you're saying is you left everyone to die!" Shadow yelled.

"There was no way everyone could have made it out. If we had stayed, we all would have died."

"You coward!"

Shadow fired a Chaos Spear at Dooku, only for him to absorb it in the palm of his hand.

"May I remind you that you need me alive to free you from Sidious? The three of us together, once powerful enough, can defeat him. Now all I need you to do is sit in here, do nothing, learn nothing, and just wait while I train Petro. Do you think you can manage that?"

Shadow was furious, but he understood that he had very few options.

"Fine, but at least take these chains off."

"Very well, as long as you promise not to abuse the door anymore."

Dooku undid the chains and he and Petro exited the ship to continue training, leaving Shadow alone.

"I really hate that we have to keep him in the dark like this." Petro said, looking back at the ship.

"The sooner you master the ways of the Dark Side the sooner you can change that."

* * *

Sidious stared at the three Jedi, waiting for them to make their move. He knew that if he was going to win this fight, he needed to split them up. Anakin would be the easiest to get rid of first. Sidious could feel how off balance he was.

"The legends say that you are the chosen one, that you will destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force. But in light of recent events, I don't think anyone will believe that anymore. I'm sure your Padawan wouldn't."

Hate and rage rushed through Anakin's veins. He screamed and charged at Sidious.

Obi-wan tried to warn him. "No, Anakin, that's what he wants!"

Sidious stood still, watching Anakin approach. Once Anakin was close enough, he swung. But, a split second before the blade could make contact with Sidious's smug face, a shiny metal object zipped out in front of him.

Anakin's blade hit the metal object and deactivated.

Anakin was stunned. He furiously hit the button, trying to reactivate his lightsaber, all while Sidious laughed at him. Anakin looked at the metal object that shorted out his blade.

It was a droid, one that appeared to be inspired by the look of Shadow's species. It was dark gray, had piercing red eyes, and appeared to have some sort of laser emitter built into its chest. It hovered in the air so that its small body was positioned protectively before Sidious's face.

"Are you familiar with the rare metal cortosis? It's one of the few things in this universe that can stop a lightsaber blade and even short it out. The Separatists used to have a droid like this. Those droids were so effective, I had to sabotage their production to stop them from winning the war. But of course, that's no longer an issue. When I ordered these units to be manufactured again, I received this little master piece. Never have I seen a swifter droid. My scientist calls it 'Cortosis Sonic'."

Anakin started to back up, but the droid grabbed him and launched into the air. It carried Anakin over the water and dropped him. He plunged into the surging waves.

With the droid gone, Yoda rushed towards Sidious with his own, more well thought out attack. His plan was make it look like he was about to attack from the front but when Yoda got close, he was going to jump over Sidious and slash him in the back.

However, when he jumped, he was immediately swatted to the side by the high-speed droid. Yoda was shocked by how fast this droid could move. It was able to grab Anakin, drop him in the ocean, and return in a matter of seconds.

Cortosis Sonic snatched Yoda's lightsaber and crushed it. He shoved the droid away from him with a Force Push only to be struck with Force Lightning by Sidious. Obi-wan attempted to defend Yoda, but Sidious shocked him instead, throwing him back.

The Sith tried to shock Yoda again, only for the old master to raise his hands and block the attack. Sidious cackled as Yoda tried to withstand his power.

Obi-wan got back up to try and help Yoda, only to be faced with Cortosis Sonic. He put his lightsaber away, knowing that it would be useless. He threw a punch and Cortosis Sonic avoided it almost contemptuously. The droid launched a vicious kick into Obi-wan's stomach, then grabbed him and turned towards the ocean. It lifted up Obi-wan and prepared to drop him in like it had done to Anakin.

The droid let go, but Obi-wan managed to grab on to the droid's foot. Annoyed, the droid tried to shake him off. Meanwhile, the younglings watched through a window.

"They're getting destroyed out there!" Zatt cried in dismay. "Anakin's in the ocean, Obi-wan's dangling for his life, and Yoda's barely hanging on!"

"Well what are we supposed to do?" Ganodi questioned. "It's not like our lightsabers will be any more helpful."

"Well there's got to be some way to disable that droid."

"Maybe there's something in the armory that could help us?" Katooni suggested.

The five kids ran to the armory. Racks of weapons and armor covered every wall. They disregarded the armor to focus on the weapons.

Gungi pointed excitedly at a rocket launcher.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Ganodi denied. "Masters Obi-wan and Yoda will be right there."

The wookie groaned in disappointment.

"Wait, I got it!" Zatt pulled out the lid off a crate. "Droid poppers!"

"I don't know, did you see how fast that thing moves?" Katooni countered. "It'll get out of the way before the popper goes off."

"True, but we're going to be using a whole lot more than just one."

* * *

Cortosis Sonic was still violently shaking its leg around, trying to shake Kenobi off. However, Obi-wan used this to his advantage, and let go on the upswing of the droid's leg to launch himself back onto the platform.

Cortosis Sonic quickly rushed at him again and grabbed hold of his neck. Obi-wan struggled to breath as the droid's grip tightened.

Meanwhile, Yoda and Sidious continued their power struggle.

"Your friend is dying, Master Yoda. What are you going to do about it?"

Yoda knew that abandoning his fight with Sidious would only result in him getting shot in the back, but he had to do something to help Obi-wan. He broke off the power struggle to Force Push the droid. It was knocked over, but it did not let go of Obi-wan, dragging him down with it.

As Yoda expected, this drop in his defense was taken advantage of by Sidious who shocked him with more Force Lightning. Pain coursed through Yoda's body.

Obi-wan fought to get free of the droid's grip, to no avail. It appeared that this was how he was going to die. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the younglings rush over carrying a crate!

Obi-wan had no idea what they were planning to do, but they were the only ones who could save him. They set down the crate and began pulling stuff out of it. He couldn't see what the items were through the haze that obscured his vision.

Obi-wan heard multiple tiny clangs and thought he saw a quick flash of light. At first thought that it was him dying, but then the grip on his throat loosened. Obi-wan took a deep breath and his vision cleared enough to let him see Cortosis Sonic lying on top of him, unmoving. Its eyes were no longer glowing. He pushed the droid off of him, still gasping for air.

He heard cheers coming from the younglings. "We got him! We got him!"

Obi-wan then saw what they had thrown at the droid. Droid poppers. Lots of them.

But then he remembered Master Yoda. He was still doing his best to defend against Sidious's lighting. He lifted the disabled droid with the Force and threw it at the Sith Lord.

Sidious stopped the droid in mid-air with his own Force power. He let it drop and approached Obi-wan.

"That was most unwise. You should have run when you had the opportunity."

"I'm not leaving without Master Yoda."

Sidious laughed at him. "Your compassion is your greatest weakness!"

The Sith lifted his lightsaber to attack, when he was hit with a powerful Force Push. Sidious was sent sprawling across the platform. The attacker was Anakin, who had climbed back out of the ocean. His eyes were once again filled with rage. He charged at Sidious.

The Sith saw Anakin coming as he was getting up. He tried to swing at him with his lightsaber. Anakin grabbed Sidious's wrist, stopping the blow. Sidious shot lighting from his free hand. Anakin fought through the pain and began punching him. Sidious finally managed to push him away with the Force and backed away to recollect himself.

He was shocked by Anakin's display of power. Sidious felt the pure hatred flowing through his body. Perhaps his plans for him were not lost after all, but he needed to find a new way to gain his loyalty.

Or at least his obedience.

"As entertaining as this fight has been, it grows rather tiresome, and there are far easier ways to deal with you."

Sidious fled back to his ship. Anakin tried to run after him, but Obi-wan grabbed his shoulder.

"Not now, Anakin. We need to get Yoda some medical attention."

Anakin watched as Sidious's ship retreated back into space.

Sidious watched the Republic ships attempting to flee the system, but they were easily held back by the new fleet Eggman had made. His ships were vaguely fish shaped, and were painted bright red, blue, and purple. The symbol of the Separatists was printed on the sides of the ships.

Shadow and Dooku had been conspicuously absent during that fight, and Sidious hadn't sensed them either. They must have escaped using Dooku's cloaked ship. But this mattered very little. Anywhere Shadow went, Sidious could follow.


	27. Embrace your Hatered

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Eggman was sitting at his work desk, drawing up designs for a Dooku Android when his desk mounted commlink started beeping.

"Ugh, what does he want now?"

He answered the call and a hologram of Sidious appeared.

"Doctor Eggman, I need you to speed up the Death Star's construction."

"If this thing is going to be powerful enough to destroy planets, I need to find more Chaos Emeralds. And they are very difficult to find when they could be anywhere in the entire galaxy!"

"Don't give me excuses, give me results! That hedgehog creature has three of them! And you're saying you can only find one?"

Eggman gritted his teeth. "He's been getting lucky."

"Well then you better start getting lucky, or else."

Sidious ended the transmission.

Eggman groaned. "One demand after another with this guy! 'Build me army! Build me a space fleet! Build me a robot covered in cortosis! Build me a Dooku Android!' Translator!"

"Yes sir?" C-3PO responded.

"Send out three dozen more search parties to look for those Chaos Emeralds."

"Of course, sir."

C-3PO hated working for him. Eggman was the most rude and ungrateful master he had ever served. But he had to do what he said or be scrapped.

 _Oh, I hope I'm able to call for help soon._

* * *

Shadow paced around the tiny ship. Around and around and around. Though the absence of the chains helped, being cooped up like this was still stressful to him. In addition, Shadow was very goal-oriented person and having nothing to do grated on him. On top of all that, he was also worried about the people that had been left behind on Kamino. Had anyone else escaped? He didn't know, he couldn't help them either way.

The hours dragged by until the door opened again to let Petro in.

"Here, I thought you might be hungry."

Shadow only nibbled at the travel rations. Stress had driven much of his appetite away.

"Petro, do you miss your friends?"

Petro blinked at the sudden question. "Yes. Of course, I do."

"Then why are you okay with fact that they got left for dead?"

"We didn't have a choice!" Petro snapped defensively.

"Do you actually believe that or is that just what Dooku told you? He was the enemy of the Jedi. He would have no problem leaving them behind. And what do you think he's going to do once we kill Sidious? The only reason he's helping us is because Sidious betrayed him."

"But we need him!" Petro argued.

"That might be what he wants us to believe, but that doesn't make it true."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"I think we should…"

Shadow collapsed.

* * *

 _"Where are you?"_

 _Immediately, Sidious was there, tearing painfully through Shadow's memories. He carefully scrutinized the brief glimpse that Shadow had gotten of the planet he was now on._

 _"Not much to go on, but it does narrow down the possibilities a little. Now, how did you learn about this Force trick?"_

 _Sidious went back through Shadow's memories until he found the one where Petro had told Shadow about this use of Dark Side power._

 _"This boy opened a Sith holocron? And he's with you, wherever you are. So, Dooku has a new apprentice then. By the way, severing this connection isn't as hard as Dooku is making it out to be. He could do it any time he pleases."_

* * *

Shadow woke up as a ball of spikes on the floor. He uncurled to find Dooku kneeling over him with Petro hovering at Dooku's side.

"Liar!"

Shadow swung at Dooku, but he quickly sprang back, causing Shadow to miss. Dooku then raised his hand and pinned Shadow to the wall with the Force.

"What was that about?" Petro asked, looking at Shadow in confusion.

"He's been lying to us this entire time! He can break the connection whenever he wants to!" Shadow shouted.

"Is that what Sidious told you? Are you seriously going to believe anything he tells you? Have you already forgotten about how he tricked the Republic and the Separatists?"

"You were part of that trick! You're no more trustworthy than he is!" Shadow spat.

"He's been through your mind. He knows we're working together. He's trying to divide us. Why else would he tell you that?"

"I think Dooku's telling the truth Shadow." Petro supplied.

Shadow teleported directly in front of Dooku and readied a Chaos Spear but before he could fire it, Dooku hit him with Force Lightning. Shadow screamed from the intensity of the blast and Dooku kept it up until Shadow was unconscious once again.

"What do we do now?" Petro asked. "He doesn't trust you and even if we could convince him, I'm not sure how much longer he could stand to be locked in here."

Dooku thought about this. Having Shadow around was becoming increasingly problematic. Perhaps he was more trouble than he was worth.

"I'm afraid he's more a hinderance than a help to us. Unfortunately, this means we'll have to kill him."

Petro's eyes went wide with shock. "Kill him!? Seriously? We can't kill him!"

"Not only is he a beacon for Sidious to follow, he just tried to kill me. You think he won't try again? Consider this the next part of your training. Kill him."

"Why me?"

"If you are going to be a true master of the Dark Side you cannot allow yourself to be held back by compassion. You must be willing to do whatever it takes."

"But the whole reason we're doing this is to get Sidious out of Shadow's head!"

"We're doing this so we can be strong enough to defeat Sidious. This is the only way."

Petro reluctantly ignited his lightsaber and approached Shadow. The hedgehog lay there, still shaking from being shocked.

"Do it."

"I… I can't!"

Dooku sneered. "You're pathetic." He pushed Petro aside and took out the Darksaber. "If you're too weak to kill him, then I'll do it myself."

"No! There has to be another option!" Petro pleaded.

Dooku prepared to stab Shadow, only to be struck with Force Lightning.

"I won't let you kill him!"

"Foolish child."

Dooku Forced Pushed him out the door and onto the ground. Shadow's eyelids flickered and he let out a moan. Dooku turned his attention back to him.

"Time to end this."

He once again prepared to stab the hedgehog only to be pulled out of the ship by the force. It was Petro again, glaring defiantly at Dooku.

Dooku appeared completely unconcerned. "Are you under the impression that you can defeat me?"

Petro responded by throwing more lightning at him. Dooku easily deflected it with the palm of his hand.

"You should have learned a new trick before you decided to challenge me. It would have made you less predictable."

Petro charged Dooku with his lightsaber. Dooku easily parried the strike and kicked Petro in the chest, knocking him down. Dooku raised his hand started Force Choking Petro.

"You will learn your place, apprentice. You will do as I command or die."

"HEY!"

Dooku turned around and saw Shadow standing in the doorway of the ship.

"Let him go."

Dooku was unamused. "And why would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, then I will Chaos Blast your ship. And not seeing any other place to get a ship around here, so we'll be stranded. I'm also getting a good look at the environment. Lots of dirt and rocks, and is that a temple over there? I wonder if Sidious will recognize the place next time he takes a look in my head?"

Dooku dropped Petro. "We must leave at once."

Shadow didn't back down. "I don't think so. We're not going anywhere until you get Sidious out of my head for good."

Dooku was furious but knew he didn't have much choice. "Very well. Come here."

Petro recovered enough to speak. "Wait, you actually could have done it this whole time? And you were going to make me kill him over a problem you could easily have solved?"

Dooku ignored the questions as Shadow approached. Halfway there, Shadow stumbled and grabbed his forehead, then slumped to the ground.

Dooku knew what this meant. Shadow had already curled up and started making distressed noises. Dooku realized he had an opportunity to kill him and ignited the Darksaber. But as he went for the kill, he felt a burning pain in his legs and fell face first into the dirt.

He tried stand back up, only to come to the horrifying realization that his legs had been cut off. Dooku then felt multiple slashes of agony along his back and heard enraged screaming.

Petro kept slashing and slicing, lost in a haze of rage for this man who had dared to lie to him and attempt to murder his friend.

"STOP!"

Petro froze mid-swing, and abruptly realized that the body in front of him was now in several pieces. Shadow was screaming as Sidious continued torturing him.

The brutal realization of what he had done crashed in on Petro. He had killed a person. He had deliberately and violently ended a person's life. And he would have kept going if Shadow's scream hadn't snapped him out of it.

 _Obi-wan and Yoda were right. I should have been locked up._


	28. Stuck

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

In Kamino's medical bay a droid treated Yoda while Obi-wan spoke to the fleet.

"This isn't working! Their defenses are too strong and they're picking us off!" Cody sounded desperate. "We need a new plan!"

"I know! I'm thinking!" Obi-wan ran a hand through his hair as he tried to focus. "Just… come back. You're not doing any good up there."

Rex ran into the room, breathing heavily. "Sorry… I looked… everywhere. I couldn't… find him."

"What are you talking about?" Anakin demanded. "And why aren't you with the fleet?"

Rex got his breath back. "Kenobi said to find Shadow, so I looked for him. Plus, I wasn't gonna leave you behind."

"Wait, Shadow's not here? Wait a minute…" Anakin counted the younglings. "Where's Petro?"

The younglings shrugged.

"Oh no. Shadow _and_ Petro _and_ Dooku? They're all missing?"

"Perhaps they've all gone to the same place." Obi-wan suggested.

"And where would that be?" Anakin asked.

"I don't know but I doubt they're still here on Kamino."

"They're definitely not." Rex supplied. "Dooku's ship is gone."

"Well, how are we supposed to get off Kamino?"

"Right now, I don't think we can. I think we're going to have to rely on Shadow and Petro to get us out of this one."

* * *

Shadow woke up with a blinding headache and a raw throat. It was dark, and the stars were out. He slowly sat up, grimacing in pain and looked around. A campfire had been built next to him. Sitting by the fire was Petro, staring blankly into the flames.

"Water." Shadow rasped.

Petro listlessly tossed a canteen at him.

Shadow drank deeply and asked "Is Dooku dead?"

Petro pointed at the chopped up remains.

"Good." Shadow took another drink.

This finally got Petro to react with some energy. "Good? I hacked a man to pieces! How is that good?"

"Because he was a dick and he was going to kill me."

"But I didn't have to kill him! I cut off his legs! I could've done the same to his arms and he would've been helpless!"

"He would've still been able to use the Force."

"Losing body parts weakens your connection to the Force."

"Okay, even if you could've rendered him completely helpless, killing him is still better."

"How? How is killing a defenseless man a good thing?"

"Because if there's anything I've learned about him, it's that he's a selfish backstabber who doesn't care who he has to hurt to get what he wants. He lied to and manipulated us the entire time and if we kept him alive, he would've kept right on doing it. Keeping him alive would've done nothing at best and gotten us killed at worst. He was a scumbag of a human being and if you hadn't killed him when you did you would probably be regretting it right now."

Petro looked back at the fire. "All that makes sense, I guess but I… I've just… never killed a person before. It feels awful."

"Watching the people you care about die is worse." Shadow's voice was so quiet Petro had to strain to hear him. Louder, Shadow said, "We need to leave. Sidious knows where we are."

Shadow stood up, then groaned and clutched his head.

"Shadow?"

"Sidious really did a number on me this time." He hissed.

"I know. You were screaming for a long time and when you stopped, you didn't wake up right away like before."

"I think I started to wake up and then passed out from the pain."

They slowly made their way to Dooku's ship. Petro sat in the pilot's seat and Shadow sat on the floor with his head resting on his knees. Petro quickly discovered a problem.

"I can't fly it."

Shadow looked up. "I thought you knew how to fly."

"That's not it. The controls are locked."

"Locked? What do you mean locked?"

"I mean I need a passcode in order to fly this thing."

Shadow put his head back down "Great, we're stuck here and Sidious is on his way."

"I guess we should find a place to hide on this planet."

They collected the Emeralds and the Darksaber, put a blindfold on Shadow, and set off.

* * *

"Okay now, just install the Chaos Emerald here and… there! We now have a fully operational battle station."

The Death Star hummed to life around Eggman. The Chaos Emerald glowed at its very center with space for the other six alongside it.

He let out a huge yawn. "Finally, that's done. Man, I need a nap. Translator, I gonna go sleep for a couple hours. Tell Sidious his battle station is ready. If he needs me for anything else, too bad."

Eggman departed the Death Star's core and C-3PO went over to communications. As he typed in the code for Sidious's private commlink, he realized the opportunity he had. An image of Sidious appeared.

"Where is the doctor?"

"I'm afraid he's resting at the moment."

C-3PO thought that there was something oddly familiar about the creepy cloaked figure but wasn't quite sure where he could have seen a man like him before. Surely he would remember meeting a man this intimidating.

"Was is the progress of the Death Star?"

"Well the station is operational; however, the doctor requires more of these Emeralds to achieve the full destructive power that you have requested."

Sidious scowled. "Tell that lazy doctor to take the Death Star to Kamino."

"Yes of course."

Sidious cut the transmission, and C-3PO began typing in a different code. He had absolutely no intention of waking the doctor. Delaying whatever Sidious wanted bought the people on Kamino some time. But with the doctor asleep, he could send them a warning.

* * *

A group of five clones known as the Wolf Pack sat in the communications room on Kamino, playing sabacc. They weren't expecting anyone to actually call, so when the console started beeping, they stared at it in shock for several moments.

"Hello? Hello? Please, someone pick up this is an emergency!"

Eventually, Commander Wolffe answered the call.

"Uh, hello? Who is this?"

"I am C-3PO."

"You gotta be kidding me." Wolffe murmured to himself. He looked back at the guys at the table. "It's that annoying protocol droid!"

"Him? Seriously? How is he still around?"

"I know! This droid is blaster-proof."

c-3PO carried on with his warning. "I must inform you that a massive battle station is going to be attacking you very soon and you must evacuate the planet."

"Well thanks for the heads up but there's one little problem, we can't leave. There's a massive blockade surrounding the planet. We tried to break through but it didn't work. Our shield generators are the only thing keeping them from blowing us to pieces."

"Oh, well I'll call R2 and he'll get Master Anakin and he'll get you out."

"About that, they're already here on Kamino and they're just as stuck as we are."

"Oh dear!" C-3PO exclaimed. "There must be someone who can help you."

"Well there's one person out there who could help, but we have no idea where he is."

"Who?"

"Shadow. He was here with us, but he seems to have disappeared."

"The creature that destroyed the Republic?"

"No, the person who gave us our right to choose. Look, what can you tell us about this battle station?"

"Well supposedly, it's capable of destroying an entire planet."

The clone blinked. "An entire planet? That must be a really big weapon."

"Oh, it is. It's approximately 160 kilometers in diameter."

A stunned silence filled the room as the clones struggled to envision such an immense weapon.

"What… what could possibly power something so big?"

"Some sort of large gemstone. The scientist hired to create this weapon calls it a Chaos Emerald."

"Chaos Emerald? Isn't Shadow looking for those?"

The other clones nodded.

"I do have some good news. They don't seem to have enough Emeralds to fully power the weapon."

"They're bringing over a super weapon that doesn't fully work?"

"I can only speculate, but I think they mean to scare you with it."

"How soon until they arrive?"

"Well that depends on when the doctor wakes up from his nap. Once he wakes up it will take about three hours of hyperspace travel to arrive at Kamino."

"Thank you C-3PO. We'll tell everyone else. Keep your eye out for more intel."

* * *

They were traveling much slower than Shadow would have liked. Every step sent daggers of pain through his skull, and any attempt to move faster then a slow walk threatened send him back into unconsciousness. Humiliatingly, he was also forced to let Petro lead him by the hand as he couldn't navigate while wearing the blindfold.

Then suddenly, Petro stopped.

"What, have you found a spot?"

"No, it's a ship! Get down!"

Petro dragged Shadow down. Laying in the dirt, Shadow's ears picked up the humming sound of a ship landing. Petro watched as the small ship opened up and two droids exited. He recognized them as the same new droids that had attacked Kamino.

One of the droids seemed to be holding a strange looking data pad. The droid looked at the pad for a moment, then pointed right in the direction of their hiding spot.

Petro whispered to Shadow, "I think they know we're here."

"Can you be a bit more specific about who 'they' are?"

"Those new droids."

"Any sign of Sidious?"

"No, I don't think he's with them. This looks like a scouting party. And they're coming straight for us."

"Well if they already see us…"

Shadow stood up and removed his blindfold. The droids stopped in their tracks.

"Enemy identified: Shadow the hedgehog."

Shadow fired two Chaos Spears, easily destroying the robots. He then walked over and picked up the device the robot was holding.

"What is that?" Petro asked.

"It looks like some sort of energy scanner. It looks like it's picking up something incredibly powerful."

Despite the headache, Shadow quickly connected the dots. "Chaos Emeralds. That's what brought these robots here. They detected the Chaos Emeralds I have."

And now that he had the device, he could use it to look for the Emeralds he didn't have. He looked at the ship the robots had come in. And he now had a way off this planet.


	29. That's no Moon!

**Surprise! Two chapters today!**

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Sidious sat tapping his finger on the armrest of his pilot's seat and glaring at the stars outside his ship. The Death Star should have arrived hours ago.

"Where is that lazy doctor?"

He was going to look for Shadow and Dooku after he finished his business here, but by this point they would have gone to another planet. Finally, one of the droids announced that the Death Star had arrived.

The star field was suddenly obscured by an enormous structure. The Death Star dwarfed every ship in the fleet combined. Sidious's anger was somewhat mollified as he felt the terror pouring from the inhabitants of Kamino in reaction to the sudden arrival of the menacing weapon.

* * *

Obi-wan and Cody had wandered about as they discussed recent developments and now found themselves outside.

"A massive blockade up there and now a giant battle station?" Obi-wan mulled over this new predicament.

"Do you think there's any possibility of us getting out of this at all? Palpatine or Sidious or whatever his real name is always seems to be five steps ahead of us."

"I don't know what our next move is. I think we're just going to have to wait to see what Sidious does next."

"I don't think we're going to survive his next move. I mean what happens when-" Cody abruptly cut off, staring at the sky. "Don't look now, but Kamino just gained a forth moon."

Obi-wan gaped at it. "That's no moon, that's a space station!"

"Wow, they really weren't kidding about it's size."

"I think we need to reconvene with the others."

In the conference room, Obi-wan, Anakin, Cody, Rex, Padme, and the other clone commanders all came together.

Commander Gree opened the meeting. "Welp, that's it. We're dead."

"That big station is just for show. It's not capable of doing anything yet." Rex reminded him.

"Only until they find the rest of the Emeralds to power its superweapon." Obi-wan pointed out.

"We've got an incoming transmission." Cody reported.

"Put it through." Obi-wan ordered.

He answered the call and a hologram of Sidious appeared.

He grinned at all of them. "Greetings Jedi. I'm sure you've noticed my new battle station. It is capable of destroying an entire planet with a single shot."

"Such a large station surely requires a lot of power to run it." Obi-wan said in a musing tone. "Is one Chaos Emerald really enough?"

Sidious's confident, smug demeanor faltered. "What did you just say?"

"We know your battle station isn't powerful enough yet."

"How did you know? Who told you?"

Obi-wan rubbed his beard in mock thought. "Well gee, I can't seem to remember."

Sidious glared at him. "You might be safe for now, but my droids are scouring the galaxy for those Emeralds. And once the Death Star is powerful enough, you will be obliterated."

Sidious cut the transmission.

"Well he seems mad."

"He is right though." Anakin pointed out. "Once he gets more Emeralds, we're done for."

"So, what are we going to do?" Rex asked.

"Right now, I'm not sure there's much we can do." Obi-wan said.

* * *

Eggman boarded the new Separatist flagship, Remorseless, to meet with Sidious who had summoned him. Eggman wanted to call the ship The Egg Carrier (because that's what it was, dammit!), but Sidious shot that idea down immediately.

He entered the chamber where Sidious was waiting.

"Okay, what was so important that I had t- gahhh!"

Sidious was choking him. Eggman was lifted off the ground and pulled closer to him.

"First, you arrived late. Second, the Jedi know the Death Star is under powered. Care to explain?"

The pressure eased enough for Eggman to speak. "How should I know?"

Sidious's gaze was cold and hard. "How else could they have gotten this information? You're the only one who knows how these Emeralds work. So, either you have a spy or you're attempting to betray me."

"No! No, I would never do that!"

"Let's see if your mind provides the same answer."

Eggman screamed as Sidious began probing his mind. After search through his memories, he found that Eggman was indeed telling the truth. Sidious released him.

"So, you're not the traitor. But then who is?"

"I don't know!"

"Then go find out, interrogate everyone aboard the Death Star, and be more careful where you speak of my plans."

* * *

Back aboard the Death Star, Eggman rounded up the fifty Geonosians that serviced the robots that ran the place.

"Translator tell them everything I'm about to say."

"Actually, most Geonosians do under-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion!"

"That wasn't an opinion that wa-"

"Shut up! Just do what I say! Now, some very sensitive information has been leaked to the enemy, and someone aboard this station is responsible. No one is going anywhere until we find out who."

 _Oh my._ C-3PO thought as he translated. _What am I going to do?_

* * *

The Shadow Android was on Kashyyyk, setting fire to the tree home of the Wookies. They roared and retaliated, causing the Android to flee.

Upon escaping pursuit, it received a message from Sidious, transmitted directly into its brain.

"Android, I have a special mission for you."

* * *

Petro set the ship down. "We're here."

Shadow stirred from his curled-up position. He'd been trying to sleep but hadn't been very successful. "There's an Emerald here?"

"No, but there is food. And don't try to tell me you're not hungry. You hardly ate anything the last time I gave you food and that was hours and hours ago."

Shadow wanted to argue but the growling in his stomach prevented him from doing so. "Fine but let's make this quick."

"How's your head doing? If you want I can go get something and bring it back."

"No. I don't want to spend any more time sitting around a ship."

"Well in that case, you're going to need a disguise." Petro pointed out. "You're going to have to sit tight until I can find some clothes for you."

"Do you even have money? How are you going to get clothes and food?"

"I found a pouch full of credits on Dooku's ship. He was loaded."

Petor left and returned shortly with a robe that was only slightly too large for Shadow.

"Okay, we're disguising you as a Jawa."

"I don't know what that is but okay."

Shadow used the hood of the robe to cover his eyes, which were once again covered by the blindfold. Petro took his hand and lead him out of the ship.

Though Shadow tried not to pay attention to his surroundings, he couldn't help but notice the way the ground shifted beneath his feet, the hot sunlight beating down on him, or the nasty smell carried on the dry air.

"I hate to tell you this, but I'm getting a pretty good idea about what kind of place this is."

"This isn't the only one in the galaxy and we won't be here long."

They entered what sounded like a bar and Shadow flattened his ears against the noise. He then bumped into someone.

"Trying to rob me little thief?"

"No."

"I know you Jawas are always looking for ways to scam people out of their money. Well it didn't work this time!"

"He can't help bumping into you, he's blind!" Petro spoke up in Shadow's defense.

"No one asked you, kid!"

A new voice joined in. "A Jawa bumped into me the other day and the next thing I knew my pockets were empty. That wouldn't be you would it?"

Shadow felt one of them pick him up.

"Okay, I'm going to give you three seconds to put me down and walk away."

"Maybe you are blind, otherwise you would see that you're not in a position to make threats."

"Time's up."

Shadow lifted his legs and fired his rocket shoes. He was rewarded with a scream and being dropped. The smell of cooked flesh and laughter filled the air.

"You'll… you'll pay for this!"

The sound of feet running away.

"We're going to need to watch out for them on the way back to the ship. And by we, I mean you."

"Right." Regret colored Petro's tone. "Let's sit down."

Petro lead him to a booth and they sat down.

"So, we're not going to get thrown out for setting someone on fire?" Shadow asked.

"This far into the outer rim, there's very few rules. I've heard some pretty messed up rumors about this place."

"It's probably better if you don't tell me."

Petro ordered deep fried gorg for them both. Shadow found it delicious and realized hunger must have been contributing to his headache as it faded substantially.

They ate in silence for a while until Petro asked, "So, you said you taught me those lessons because it was what you wish someone had done for you. What did you mean by that? What happened?"

Shadow went very still. "Nothing that I want to talk about."

"Are you sure there's nothing? I sense how tense you are. Yoda always used to say, 'The best way to lessen a burden, is to share it'."

"And what exactly does Master Yoda know?"

"…Not as much as I used to think he did. But he is still a very wise master."

"I have yet to see any evidence of that."

"Will you just talk to me already?" Petro asked in exasperation.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because you've done so much to help me, and I want to help you too."

This surprised Shadow. Then he sighed. "Okay fine but pay attention because I'm not going to say this again."

Petro nodded and leaned in closer.

"I'm not normal. I was created, not born."

"You've secretly been a droid this whole time?" Petro gasped in shock.

"No! And keep your voice down. I'm an artificial lifeform. I'm a government-funded genetic experiment. I was created to cure deadly diseases. I wasn't supposed to be destructive. You see these powers and abilities I have? They weren't intentional, they were a side effect. Because of these powers, the government feared me. They said I was unstable and dangerous. So they shut down the project and locked me away." Shadow's voice had been getting softer and softer, until he finished on a whisper.

"Is that why you care so much about the clones?"

"They create you and they think they can do whatever they want with you. Fifty years later, I escaped, and I was really pissed off. I attempted genocide."

Petro stared in shock.

"Yeah, it was really bad. I didn't go through with it, I stopped it and almost got myself killed in the process. I lost my memory after that, and I was left with so many questions and no real answers. I had no guidance to follow other than my instincts and as a result, I made a lot of bad decisions. And I attempted genocide again. I was so scared and confused and I didn't know to trust. I eventually set myself on the right track, but I caused a lot of damage before then."

"Is this why people on your planet don't like you?"

"Exactly. Of course, most haven't liked me since I was first created but those are the current reasons. So, when I heard that you were locked up, I knew I had to do something, before you turned out like me."

"I don't think I would ever attempt genocide."

"I thought I would never attempt it either, but when everything you care about gets destroyed, there's no telling what you can turn into. We should get going."

It was obvious that Shadow hadn't told him everything, but he was clearly done talking about it and Petro didn't want to press him further.

As Shadow got up to leave, Petro sensed that something was wrong. He then saw the two guys from earlier walk back in carrying blasters.

"Shadow get down!" Petro pulled Shadow under the table.

"What's going on?"

"Those two jerks are back."

"Well that's not a problem, we were just leaving."

Shadow took off his blindfold and got out from underneath the table. He saw a Rodian and an ugly, pig-faced alien.

"You two looking for me?"

The two guys pointed their blasters at him. ''You're gonna pay."

"You guys are going to regret coming back in here. This is your last chance to walk away."

Shadow took off the robe.

"It's the hedgehog creature!"

They started shooting at him. Shadow teleported to right in front of them and swiped the guns from their hands. Then he bent them in his hands until they were unusable. The two aliens turned and ran.

Shadow looked back at Petro. "Let's get out of here."


	30. Aggressive Negotiations

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

A thunder storm raged on Kamino. The shields kept out the lightning, but the rain was allowed to fall through and soak the two patrolling clones through the cracks in their armor.

"Why did we get stuck with this patrol again?"

"Because you suck at sabacc."

"Hey, Pulsar was totally cheating!"

They came to the northern landing pad and a figure appeared, approaching through the rain.

"Is that who I think it is?"

"Shadow? Where have you been? How did you get past the blockade?"

Shadow ignored these questions and walked right past them without so much as giving them a glance.

"Uh, hey, Shadow?"

The hedgehog continued to ignore them as he walked inside.

"What's with him?"

The other shrugged. "I don't know, maybe he just wants to get out of the rain?"

"I can definitely relate to that."

* * *

Obi-wan entered the med bay and walked over to the medical droid assigned to watch over Yoda.

"How is he?"

"His heart rate and other vital signs are normal. He simply needs to rest for the next two days."

A clone came in and hurried over to Obi-wan. "Sir, Shadow's back!"

"Is Petro with him?"

"I didn't see him. Shadow was alone."

"Well didn't you ask him?"

"I did but he didn't answer. He walked right past me as if I wasn't even there."

Obi-wan narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard. "That's peculiar."

In the bed next to them, Yoda abruptly went from laying on his back to sitting straight up. It was so sudden that Obi-wan nearly had a heart attack.

Yoda's eyes were wide open. "A great disturbance, I feel."

* * *

Shadow traveled slowly down the hallway, stopping to look inside each room as he went. The rooms were simply furnished apartments, most of which contained sleeping clones.

But then he heard a voice from behind. "Hey! Where have you been?"

It was Gree, running to catch up. Shadow once again ignored the question and continued on his way.

"Where are you going?" He put a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "Didn't you hear me? I asked, where were you?"

Shadow slowly turned his head to face him. There was a brief moment where they simply looked at each other, then Shadow suddenly grabbed the arm that was on his shoulder and ripped it off of Gree's body. His screams of agony echoed through the halls. A door a few feet away slid open.

"What's going on?"

Anakin's confusion quickly turned to shock when saw Shadow savagely beating a clone with his own arm. Shadow looked at Anakin, then looked past him and saw Padme. He dropped the arm and quickly pushed past Anakin.

Shadow grabbed Padme and turned to leave. Anakin stood in the doorway and ignited his lightsaber.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Shadow ran toward the window and jumped through it. Padme struggled in Shadow's arms, repeatedly punching him in the face. However, her efforts provided no response from Shadow. Anakin jumped out of the window to chase them, but Shadow was faster and he started to fall behind.

Padme used her long finger nails to claw at Shadow's large eyes. He once again completely ignored what she was doing. Padme was shocked by the lack of response to what should be severe pain. No wonder Shadow said he was fine after he'd been stabbed.

But then she realized: this Shadow didn't have a stab wound, he didn't even have a scar! This couldn't be the real Shadow.

"Anakin told me about you. You're the Android."

The Android still did not respond. It ran into the hanger, went over to a starfighter, and knocked Padme's head against it to knock her out. It entered the ship and threw her unconscious body into the copilot's seat.

Anakin arrived at the hanger. "Close the hanger doors!"

The Android powered up the ship's engines as the doors began to close. Anakin raced towards the ship, but it lifted up and flew towards the exit. He watched as the ship approached the closing doors.

The ship wasn't going to make it but kept accelerating anyway. If the ship crashed, Padme would die. As much as he didn't want Padme to be taken away, she could always be retrieved later but only she was alive. Anakin reached out with the Force to hold the massive doors open. The ship squeezed through the small opening, scraped its roof against the edge of the door, and escaped into the sky.

* * *

C-3PO became increasingly nervous with each Geonosian they interrogated. They were nearing the end of the line. Obviously, none of them was going to provide Eggman with the information he was looking for. They were all innocent. But then C-3PO realized that Eggman only knew that they were innocent because he told him they were innocent. Eggman didn't have a clue what they were saying. All he had to do was lie about what the next Geonosian said.

The next Geonosian was brought in.

"Okay, all of your other little bug friends seem to have solid alibis. But you, you work alone in communications." Eggman glared suspiciously at him. "You wouldn't by any chance be using that to send out secret messages, would you?"

The Geonosian gave the same answer as all the others: It wasn't me and I didn't see anything.

"He confesses!"

The Geonosian began agitated and protested C-3PO's translation.

"And he begs for forgiveness."

Eggman narrowed his eyes at C-3PO. "Really?"

"Yes really, he is very sorry."

"Because I may not understand the language these bugs use, but I can recognize patterns. I've been sitting here, listening to all these bugs say the same thing. I'm pretty sure that this guy made the same click-clack noise that all the others made. You wouldn't be mistranslating what he said would you?"

"I'm just a simple protocol droid. I'm only following my programing."

"I've had robots betray me before. Their programing didn't stop them then. Perhaps I've been interrogating the wrong people."

Unable to think of an excuse, C-3PO ran for it. Unfortunately, he was not built for speed and Eggman could move surprisingly swiftly for such a large man. Eggman grabbed him and threw him to the ground.

"Oh my! Please don't hurt me!"

"So, the traitor turned out to be a droid. That's good, because droids can be reprogrammed."

* * *

The Jedi, Rex, and Cody were back in the conference room.

"We've locked down the base, sir." Cody reported. "There's no sign of any other intruders."

Anakin paced back and forth. "We need to get Padme back."

"Any ship that tries to leave the planet will get shot down." Obi-wan reminded him.

"Not if I'm flying it!"

"Anakin, you don't even know where she is!"

"She's obviously aboard that giant battle station!"

"You don't know that!"

"It's worth trying!"

"Not if we all get blown up in the process!"

"Enough!" Yoda's voice was not loud, but it was sharper than any blade. "Arguing, help us it will not. To solve a problem, you must first understand it."

"What's there to understand?"

"Take Senator Amidala, why did they?"

"He's right." Obi-wan said. "Out of all the things the Android could have done, why take Padme?"

"We got an incoming transmission."

"Put it through, Rex."

The hologram of Sidious appeared.

Anakin slammed his fist against the table. "What have done to Padme!"

"Don't worry, she's nice and safe with me. Though that could change at any moment."

"You stinking Hutt-spawn! I'll fly up there and shove my lightsaber up your-"

"What do you want?" Obi-wan cut in.

Sidious seemed amused by Anakin's rage. "What I want is Anakin Skywalker. I'm giving you an hour to fly up to my command ship. And if you aren't here by then, I'll be introducing Padme to my torture droids."

Sidious ended the transmission. Anakin immediately turned around and stormed out of the room.

"Anakin, wait!"

Anakin ignored him. Obi-wan followed him.

"Anakin! Stop!"

Anakin kept going.

"ANAKIN!"

"Let him go."

Obi-wan turned back to face Rex.

"If I learned anything about General Skywalker while serving under him, it's that once he set his mind on something there's no stopping him."

Obi-wan thought about all the times when he told Anakin not to do something and then Anakin did it anyway. He took off running after Anakin again.

"Anakin!"

Anakin had reached the hanger.

"You're not going to stop me." His face was hard and determined.

"I know. That's why I'm coming with you."


	31. The Last Witch of Dathomire

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Anakin and Obi-wan landed aboard the Remorseless. Sidious was waiting as they exited the ship.

"Anakin. And… Obi-wan."

"You didn't say he couldn't bring friends."

Sidious did not seem especially concerned with his presence. "Well, take Obi-wan to the detention center."

The robots in the hanger stepped forward and grabbed Obi-wan's arms. They took him away.

"As for you Anakin, follow me."

"Where's Padme?"

"Patience, Anakin."

They entered a small room with a table and two chairs.

"Have a seat."

Anakin sat down, and Sidious sat across from him.

"You're probably wondering why I asked you to come here."

"By asked, you mean forced."

Sidious went on as if Anakin hadn't spoken. "When I first met you, I sensed so much potential. And over the years, I've watched you grow stronger and stronger. When that hedgehog showed up, I thought that all that progress was lost. But when I fought you out on that landing pad, I saw that that potential was still there."

Anakin was seriously creeped out by the way Sidious was talking about him. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to become my apprentice."

"I am a Jedi."

Sidious laughed. "Are you really? I have seen you break every single rule in the Jedi code. When you butchered those Tuskan Raiders and when you got married to Senator Amidala and all those times you disobeyed the Jedi Council. Face it Anakin, you were never a Jedi."

Anakin didn't know why that hurt so much. Perhaps because it was true. He always had disagreed with the Jedi way of life.

"It's time I turned you into what you were always meant to be: a Sith Lord."

* * *

Petro looked down at the new planet. The scanner said there was an Emerald down there.

"Okay, I have good news and bad news."

"Well some good news would be a nice change of pace."

"There's a Chaos Emerald on this planet."

"And the bad news?"

"The planet it's on is a very, very nasty place."

"Lovely." Came the sarcastic response.

"And another thing. There's this thick jungle so I can't land right where the Emerald is and…"

"What?"

"I know you're not going to like this, but I think you should stay with the ship."

Shadow didn't like that idea, but he didn't like the idea of attempting to navigate a jungle blind either. "Whatever, just find the Emerald."

Petro landed the ship, took the scanner, and left to find the Emerald. Shadow sat in the ship and waited.

And waited.

Hours went by and Petro did not return. Shadow fidgeted restlessly. He couldn't shake the feeling that he should have gone with Petro.

Shadow heard a loud, metallic thud from outside the ship. He went still and listened intently. He put his ear up against the wall of the ship. He heard the sound of multiple pairs of feet circling the ship.

Shadow waited. Maybe they would leave if they thought no one was here. There were two more metallic thuds on the door of the ship. Shadow began to wonder if these people outside were the reason Petro wasn't back yet. Weighing his options, he decided it was best to open the door and face these people.

Shadow took off his blindfold and opened the door. He had enough time to register that they were the same species as Maul before he had to dodge an incoming spear thrust. Shadow darted inside his guard and punched him. Blood burst out of his nose as he fell back.

Shadow tried to get outside but was driven back by two more with axes. One of them threw his axe and Shadow ducked beneath it. The axe clanged against the wall and clattered to the floor. The second guy came closer and swung his axe, but Shadow cut the axe head off with his Darksaber.

This didn't stop him as he attacked with the handle of his broken weapon. Shadow stabbed him through the chest and as he did so, the other axe warrior ran up and kicked him in the face. Shadow was flung against the wall, and before he could get up, heavy blows began raining down all over his body.

More attackers had come in and were beating him down mercilessly. Shadow curled into a ball and felt blood soak his fur as his quills sliced open someone's hand. This didn't deter his attackers as they simply switched to hitting him with blunt weapons instead. The idea of using Chaos Blast crossed Shadow's mind, but that would damage the ship. He struck out with the Darksaber and cut off someone's foot.

Shadow was about to strike again when he felt a horribly familiar pain fill his head.

 _No! Not now!_

* * *

Anakin angrily paced across his "new room". It was more like a prison cell. There was a bed and nothing else. Not even a window.

Sidious had ordered him to wait. He had not said how long he would be gone or when Anakin could see Padme or what was happening to Obi-wan.

 _I shouldn't have let him come with me._

The door then slid open and Sidious stood in the doorway.

"Come apprentice, we are going on a mission."

They went to the hanger and found Padme standing next to a ship guarded by two droids. Anakin and Padme immediately attempted to run into each other's arms, only to be held back by Sidious.

"The two of you will not be permitted to talk to each other during this mission. Doing so will result in… painful consequences."

Sidious let them go and the three of them boarded the ship.

"Now apprentice, fly us to Dathomere."

"May I ask what for?"

"To tie up a couple lose ends."

* * *

Shadow groaned as he woke with his entire body aching. His arms were stretched out, chained to two trees. There was not enough slack in the chains for him to lie down completely, so half of his body was suspended in the air. Shadow got his feet under him and stood up, reliving the pressure on his shoulders. Everything was dark except for the glow of a green fire. He squinted, trying to see what else was around him. He saw Petro, chained up and guarded by two of the people that attacked him.

Petro had clearly been given similar treatment to Shadow, though he was conscious.

"Petro, what's going on?"

"We've been captured by Night Brothers and by the looks of things, I think they're going to sacrifice you or something."

"Sacrifice?"

"Like I said, this is a nasty place."

"Silence!" Barked one of the Night Brothers. "She is coming."

A strange green mist began creeping out of the woods. It began to form into a shape in front of Shadow. The form of a strange, creepy looking woman dressed in red. All the Night Brothers bowed in her presence.

She glared down at Shadow. "So, you are the one who murdered my son."

"Would your son be a cyborg with serious control issues?"

She pulled out a knife and held it against his throat. Shadow however, was not intimidated.

"I did not murder him."

"Do not attempt to deceive me. I felt him die and you were carrying this!" She held up the Darksaber.

"I did not murder him. I saved him."

She narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"His life was pain." Shadow stated matter-of-factly.

"You destroyed his destiny!"

"The only thing he was destined for was more pain and anger." Shadow argued. "I saw it in his eyes! He was never going to feel anything remotely close to happiness ever again! He was slowly killing himself, he only kept going out of stubbornness."

"You don't know him." The woman hissed.

"I'd say I know plenty. I know what it feels like to watch everything you care about die in front of you. I know the relentless desire for revenge. And know that the person he truly was, died long before I ever met him."

Off to the side, Petro could sense the emotions Shadow wasn't letting show on his face. The woman in red could sense them too and knew that Shadow was telling the truth. She lowered the knife and stared at Shadow contemplatively. While she debated weather or not to kill him, she felt a presence.

A dark, cold presence.

She looked up and saw a ship landing off in the distance.

"He is here."

"Oh, you know Sidious? He's here for me."

Her attention snapped back to Shadow. "You? What does he want with you?"

"He's mad that I ruined his master plan."

"And how dose he know you're here?"

"Because he keeps going into my head and searching my memories for my location."

The woman's eyes lit up with interest. "Really? So, you're saying that your minds are… linked?"

"Yes." Shadow confirmed. "I'm trying to find a way to break that link."

A devilish smile crossed her face. "Sidious's mind is linked to yours. That means I can get into his mind through you."

Shadow did not like where this was going.

The woman swirled her fingers around Shadow's forehead. He backed away, but the chains prevented him from going very far. A cloud of green mist formed around the area she was circling. She reached her hand into the mist, and Shadow let out a cry of agony.


	32. Failure is not Acceptable

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

"Okay we're here. Now what?"

"Shadow the hedgehog is here as well as a Chaos Emerald. Bring them both to me." Sidious ordered.

Anakin reluctantly got up and headed off into the jungle. Sidious sat back and waited for him to complete his mission. But then he felt a throbbing pain in the back of his head. The pain quickly grew worse, and Sidious turned his attention inward.

He heard a voice. " _Darth Sidious!_ "

"Ah, Mother Talzin. I had a feeling you were still alive."

Padme was confused. Who was Sidious talking to?

"And how have you managed to work your way into my mind?"

" _I found a lost friend of yours._ "

"Ah Shadow. So, you found him for me. Why don't you deliver him to me and we can both go on our separate ways?"

" _I know you well enough to know you won't make good on that deal. Like when you promised to make me your apprentice but you took my son instead! And then threw him away when you were done with him!_ "

"Do you truly believe getting into a fight with me is a wise decision?"

Padme watched in fascination as Sidious carried on a conversation with some invisible entity. His face carried an expression of intense concentration, with the occasional wince of pain. She wasn't quite sure what was happening, but it seemed like this was a good opportunity to escape.

Padme jumped out of her seat and ran for the door. She was inches from it when invisible hands yanked her back and slammed her against the wall.

"Where do you think you're- arrrggghhhh!"

Sidious shouted as Talzin took advantage of his distraction to launch a renewed attack. The hands holding Padme loosened, but did not release her.

Sidious knew he couldn't fight Talzin and prevent Padme from escaping at the same time. She was too important to let escape. She was the only thing keeping Anakin in line.

* * *

Shadow felt like his brain was going to explode out of his skull as Sidious and Talzin attacked each other through his mind. Just as Shadow thought that he would be the first one to die in this fight, he felt the weight of a thousand anvils lift off him.

Sidious… was gone.

Shadow couldn't remember the last time he felt this good. The woman was withdrawing too. His mind was his own again. Shadow went limp in his restrains, a relieved grin on his muzzle and eyes slightly unfocused.

"Coward." Mother Talzin hissed.

Then she heard the ignition of a lightsaber. She turned and saw Anakin.

"Skywalker, what brings you here?"

"I going to need you to hand over that hedgehog and whatever Chaos Emeralds he has."

"And for what purpose do you want them?" She asked.

"That is none of your concern."

"It is if you came here on the same ship Sidious did."

"I'm not going to ask you again. Hand him over." Anakin demanded.

Talzin gave a hand signal to the Night Brothers and they charged at Anakin. He easily cut through them as he approached Mother Talzin. She activated the Darksaber and blocked his first strike.

"Before you attack me again, consider the life of that youngling over there." She pointed at Petro.

Anakin looked to the side and saw Petro being held by two Night Brothers. He looked at Anakin hopefully. He gazed at Petro for a long moment, a myriad of expressions flashing across his face.

Then his features hardened, and he swung at Mother Talzin again.

Petro was shocked as Anakin continued his fight, completely ignoring him. Luckily, the two Night Brother found killing him to be pointless and threw him aside as they went to go fight Anakin.

"Ignoring a child in need? That doesn't seem like something a Jedi would do." Talzin said chastisingly.

Anakin roared with anger and Force Pushed her. Then he turned around and sliced the two approaching Night Brothers. As their bodies dropped, Petro saw his lightsaber clipped to one's belt.

He used the Force to call it back to his hand and cut himself free. Petro then ran over to Shadow and cut his chains. Shadow slumped bonelessly to the ground.

Petro tugged at Shadow's hand. "Come on!"

But Shadow didn't respond.

Petro was deeply worried now. He had never seen Shadow smile before, and for the first one to come after that tortured screaming… well, it was disturbing, to say the least.

He looked back at Anakin, who was continuing his fight with Mother Talzin. Petro did the only thing he could think to do. He scooped up Shadow in his arms and ran.

Anakin saw them running away. He broke off his fight with Talzin to chase them but was struck in the back with green lightning. Anakin watched as Shadow and Petro disappeared into the dark woods.

Mother Talzin walked over to Anakin to stab him with the Darksaber but Anakin leapt to his feet, backhanded her with his metal fist, and ran in the direction he saw Petro run off in.

* * *

Shadow became aware again in Petro's arms.

"What? What's going on?"

"Shadow are you alright?" Petro spared Shadow a glance but kept running. "I was worried they broke your mind or something."

"I feel… good actually. Why are you running away from Anakin?"

"I don't think we can trust him anymore. He's after you and he's willing to sacrifice me to get you. Also, I think he came here with Sidious."

"Where's the ship?" Shadow asked.

"I marked the trees with arrows pointing to it. That's probably how those guys found you. Sorry."

Shadow noticed that Anakin was gaining. "Put me down."

"But we'll be caught!"

"I can carry you and I'm faster. Do it!"

Petro set him down and the world briefly became a red and black blur before resolving into the clearing with the ship. Petro stumbled when Shadow put him down, dizzy from Shadow's speed.

"Whoa! How did…?"

"I told you, I'm faster. Now get on the ship."

Anakin caught up in time to see the ship disappear into the clouds.

* * *

Anakin returned to the ship where Sidious was waiting with Padme.

"I'm not seeing Shadow or a Chaos Emerald."

"He escaped. Mother Talzin got in the way and-"

Sidious didn't bother to listen to the rest. He took out his light saber and cut off Padme's arm at the elbow.

She fell screaming and pulled her injured arm close to her chest. Anakin stood rooted, torn between equally desperate desires to comfort his wife and make Sidious pay for hurting her.

While she screamed, Sidious turned back to Anakin. "Go back and kill Mother Talzin. And if you want Senator Amidala to keep what limbs she has left, you will bring back something more than excuses."

* * *

As Shadow and Petro jumped into hyperspace, Shadow came to a horrible realization. The Darksaber and the three Chaos Emeralds he had were still in the possession of Mother Talzin.

"We left all the Chaos Emeralds behind!"

"Well the three we had before yes, but I wouldn't say that _all_ the Chaos Emeralds were left behind."

Petro then pulled out an Emerald and gave it to Shadow.

Shadow was a little relieved but still unhappy. "You know we need to go back for the other ones."

"I don't think now is a good time to get into a fight with Sidious."

"He's not in my head anymore."

"But he can get back into it." Petro countered. "We're both hurt, we're not ready to face him, and I don't know what we're going to do about Anakin."

Shadow relented. "We need to focus on finding the rest of the Emeralds. No one can stand up to me when I have all seven."

* * *

Mother Tlazin examined the three large gemstones that she had gotten from the hedgehog. She could tell there was immense power inside them, but she couldn't seem to use it.

Then the Emerald she was holding flew out of her hand. She looked up to see that it was in the palm of Anakin Skywalker. A few remaining Night Brothers pulled out their weapons but Anakin Force Choked all of them at once.

Mother Talzin barely had enough time to pull out the Darksaber to block Anakin's first strike. He followed it up by punching with the hand holding the Chaos Emerald. She fell back on the ground. She tried to get back up only to be kicked in the face. He then used the Force to pull the Darksaber away from her.

"You're right. I'm not a Jedi anymore. I'm whatever I have to be to protect Padme."

Anakin drove his lightsaber into Talzin's heart, killing her quickly. He collected the three Chaos Emeralds and returned to Sidious.

Sidious smiled approvingly when saw Anakin. "Now these are the results I expect. I can feel your hatred growing. You desperately want to kill me, but you know you can't. You are not strong enough. And the only way to become strong enough is to learn from me. Now let's get these Emeralds to the Death Star."


	33. The Greatest Teacher, Failure is

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Yoda quietly watched the clone commanders debate over what to do.

"Okay, what if we infiltrate that station and take it over?"

"And do what with it? They can't even use it at the moment!"

"We don't need a complex plan here, let's just go up there and blast them!"

"Oh yeah, cause that worked so well the last time we tried that!"

"Okay guys, this might be a long shot but what if we disguised one of us as Palpatine and trick them into bringing a shuttle down here?"

"And if Palpatine is up there and he hears about that?"

Yoda grew tired of listening to their half-baked ideas and decided to go for a walk. As he wandered the halls, he heard a voice call to him.

" _Yoda, it's me._ "

Yoda stopped dead. That voice… it couldn't be! He looked around but saw no one. Yoda sighed. On top of all his other failures he was now going insane.

" _Yoda, can you hear me?_ "

"Who are you?"

" _Qui-gon"_

"Impossible. Dead, he is."

" _Dead, but not gone._ "

Yoda was about to insist that that was impossible, but then remembered that he had been wrong for hundreds of years so why couldn't he be wrong about this?

"Possible, how is this?"

" _I'm part of the Cosmic Force. I feel the conflict in you. The guilt, the regret._ "

Yoda's ears drooped. "Dead, the Jedi Order is. Gone, they all are."

" _And you blame yourself for what happened._ "

"Grandmaster of the Jedi Order, I was. My responsibility, it is."

" _You once told me 'The greatest teacher, failure is'."_

"Come back from this failure, how can I? Dead, everyone is."

" _The war is not over yet. The next generation still lives. They will learn from what has happened._ _They need your guidance, Yoda. I can feel them losing hope. Trust the Force, Master, you will find a way."_

Then Master Yoda heard another voice.

"Uh, Master? Who are you talking to?" It was Ganodi.

"Gather the other younglings. Time for a lesson, it is."

* * *

When Sidious returned, Eggman was waiting with the captured spy.

"It was the translator droid."

Sidious scowled at him. "Did you not wipe its memory when you first got it?"

Eggman crossed his arms. "Well it doesn't matter now cause I got him. And him leaking out information is now something we can use to our advantage."

Sidious rose a brow. Eggman's ideas were strange, but they had mostly been helpful so far. "What do you have in mind?"

* * *

The younglings sat in a row in front of Yoda.

"So… what's this meeting about?" Katooni asked.

"Feel you losing hope, I do." Yoda replied. "A time of tragedy, this is and seek answers, you do."

"What are we supposed to do? We're the only Jedi left, everyone else is gone." Zat said morosely. "The Sith are taking over the galaxy, and all we can do is sit here and wait to get blown up by that giant superweapon."

Yoda was silent for a moment, seemingly thinking about what to say. "For many years, seen as the wisest of the Jedi, I have been. Looked to me for guidance, they all did. Always believed I had the answers, they did. Believed it myself, I did." Some selfish, foolish part of Yoda wished he could go back to that blissful ignorance. But that was, of course, impossible, so he pushed the desire aside.

"But all the answers, I did not have. Wrong about many things, I was. During the Clone Wars, blinded, I became. The use of the clone army, wrong it was. But question it, I did not. My desire to bring peace to the Republic, blinded me, it did. Failed to see the truth, I did. Failed to see other possibilities, I did. Cost many lives, my failures did. This perilous situation we are in, my fault, it is. For your forgiveness, I ask."

The younglings stared at Yoda in shock. He gazed back with sad eyes, his ears drooping low.

Then Gungi scooted forward and pulled Yoda into a hug. One by one everyone else came forward and wrapped themselves around him in a group hug.

When they let him go, Yoda spoke again. "Escaping, impossible it may seem. But from my failings, one thing I have learned. Give up, we must not."

* * *

"Okay, what if we build a new city deep underwater, so when they attack us again they'll think we somehow escaped?"

Rex buried his face in his hands. "We're doomed, aren't we?"

"We have an incoming transmission!"

"Good, maybe it's someone with better ideas." Rex said only half sarcastically.

An image of C-3PO appeared.

"It's the droid!" Wolffe sounded almost happy to see him.

"I have sabotaged the enemy scanners. They won't be able to see you now. This is your chance to make a run for it."

The droid's words revitalized the clones' dying hope.

"Get everyone onto the ships, we're getting out of here!" Cody joyfully ordered.

Wolffe however, couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. _All that droid knows how to do is translate and complain. How did he learn to sabotage scanners?_ But still, this could be their only chance.

Everyone quickly packed up their stuff and piled onto the ships. They took off into space.

* * *

Eggman and Sidious stood in the command center of the Death Star.

"Their ships are leaving." Eggman observed.

"Excellent. Prepare to fire." Sidious ordered.

* * *

"So far so good." Rex nervously stated. "They haven't started firing at us yet."

That's when it happened. Like the wrath of an angry god, a powerful blast emerged from the Death Star and slammed into Kamino. The vast ocean was instantly transformed into a giant cloud of steam, leaving behind the rocky core to ponderously split open and reveal its glowing center.

Dread, grief, and horror filled Rex as he watched the only home he had ever known be demolished.

The other enemy ships opened fire.

"I'm gonna kill that droid!" Wolffe roared.

"Fire back with everything we got!" Ordered Rex, beginning to get angry too.

The clone ships returned fire, launching every weapon they had in their arsenal. However, they were heavily outnumbered and out gunned. They quickly began losing ships.

But just as Rex was considering hyperspace jumping into the Death Star as a final act of defiance, the enemy ceased fire. Everyone looked around, confused.

"Why did they stop?" Rex asked.

"Want the clone army alive, they do. Destroyed us along with Kamino, they could have. But lure us out here, they did."

"We got another incoming transmission."

A hologram of Sidious appeared.

Rex stormed up to it and shouted. "You sick, twisted-"

Sidious flung him back with a Force Push.

Yoda approached the hologram. "Lord Sidious. Expecting your call, I was."

"As you are aware, I could have easily killed all of you. However, I still need a large portion of the clone army to survive. But only a portion."

"Desire me you do. Let the others go, take me, you will."

"A noble offer but it doesn't suit my needs. You're no good to me alive. If you truly want to save their lives, you will kill yourself and have the younglings deliver to me your corpse."

Yoda was about to retaliate, but then realized that he was not in a position to make demands. He sighed. "Accept your offer, I do."

"You have thirty minutes to make the delivery." Sidious ended the transmission.

"You can't seriously do this." Cody protested. "What do think he's going to do to those kids?"

"I have a better idea." Rex proposed. "Everyone else gets off this ship and I hyperspace jump into his face."

"Unnecessary, that is. A plan, I have."

* * *

Sidious watched the shuttle closely as it entered the hanger. Five younglings came out carrying a small body covered with a white cloth. When Sidious saw it, he quickly threw the cloth off with the Force, to see that it was indeed Yoda's body.

"Scan him."

A droid stepped forward and scanned Yoda's body. "Scanners detect no vital signs."

A devilish smile crossed Sidious's face and he began laughing. The younglings began to slowly back away.

Unfortunately, Sidious then looked at them. "Now as for you, you will do well as test subjects for some experiments that I had in mind."

"That wasn't part of the deal!" Ganodi protested.

"The deal was I would let the clones go in exchange for Yoda's corpse. And I am letting the clones go, but I didn't say the same for you."

"The clones won't just leave without us you know."

"Are you so certain? Because my scanners tell me that half of their ships have jumped to hyperspace and left already. You think the clones will die to save you? They didn't seem to care about you when they got their chips removed. Now then, I will escort you to the detention center."

"And do with me, what will you?"

Sidious whipped his head around to look at Yoda, who was now sitting up. A combination of fear, anger, and confusion rushed through his veins. He shot lightning at the little master, only for Yoda to jump out of the way.

"Kill that Jedi!"

Every droid in the hanger opened fire on Yoda, but he ran and jumped all over the place, avoiding every shot. While Sidious was distracted, the younglings attached a tracking device to the ceiling and made a run for the escape pods.

Sidious attempted to grab Yoda with the Force, could not. Shock washed over him, how was this possible? How come the scanner didn't detect a heartbeat?

Then Yoda stopped running and jumping and simply stood perfectly still. Sidious summoned forth the most powerful blast of Force Lighting he could muster and flung it at his enemy. But this also seemed to do nothing. Yoda just stood there while the lighting blackened the floor beneath him.

The answer finally clicked in Sidious's mind. "You're not really here."

"Defeated us yet, you have not." Declared Yoda with a decidedly cheeky grin and faded away.

* * *

"We've secured the younglings' escape pod. Ready to jump to hyperspace."

"Go!" Wolffe shouted.

They jumped.

Rex picked up an unconscious Yoda off the floor and strapped him into a seat.

"Is he going to be okay?" Cody asked.

"I'm not sure what he did, but I think it took a lot out of him." Rex answered.

The younglings arrived on the bridge, whooping with joy at their success.

"It worked! It actually worked!"

"Did you put the tracking beacon in a good spot?" Rex asked.

"Unless those droids enjoy looking up at the ceiling, I don't think they'll find it." Zat said.

"Great, now we'll always know where that superweapon is."

"Is Master Yoda okay?" Ganodi asked, pointing at the slumped figure.

"I think he'll be fine. He just needs to rest."

"So, what do we do now?" Katooni asked.

"Well if Palpatine or Sidious or whatever his name is wants a war, then he's gonna get one."


	34. It's not Wise to Upset a Wookie

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Shadow felt great. Not so much physically, the Night Brothers had given him a very through beating and that stab wound from Grievous was still healing. But the unease and dread that Shadow had initially ascribed to the trauma of being kidnapped and tortured had departed with Sidious. That damn Sith Lord could no longer track of him meaning he didn't have to wear the blindfold anymore.

Petro on the other hand, had a frown on his face. "Why would Anakin do that? It doesn't make any sense."

Shadow didn't understand it either but was trying not to think about it in order to avoid spoiling his rare good mood.

But as usual, it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.

"We're low on fuel." Petro announced.

"Is there anywhere we can stop to get some more?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. We're about to pass by Kashyyyk."

"Well then, let's land and get fuel."

They landed the ship on a beach with a village built into the massive trees that made up the nearby jungle. Concerningly, the trees seemed to be smoking.

"What happened to this place?" Shadow asked.

"Looks like they've been attacked or something."

"So where do we get fuel around here?"

"I'm not sure, but I think if we ask arou-"

A rocket flew past them struck their ship, blowing up and greatly damaging it. Shadow and Petro were knocked sprawling, ears ringing.

Shadow struggled upright immediately and hauled Petro up as laser bolts and screaming Wookies began pouring out of the forest. Shadow picked Petro up and raced away down the beach, kicking up tall plumes of sand as he ran.

Once they were far enough away, Shadow stopped and put Petro down. "You could have warned me that the locals weren't friendly."

"They are friendly! As long as you don't make them mad."

"What are they mad at us for?"

"I don't know. Wait… isn't that Android still out there?"

Shadow crossed his arms and glared down at the sand. "That would certainly explain it."

"Well then let's go back and tell them what's really going on."

"We're definitely not doing that."

Petro looked at him in confusion. "Why not? They need to know."

"Do you really think they'll believe us when we say it's not me that attacked them but some android that's designed to look exactly like me? And that's if they even let us talk to them at all."

"So, what do we do? Our ship is destroyed, and we're stuck here being hunted by Wookies."

"Maybe we can steal a ship."

"Uh, this place isn't exactly known for its ships."

"There has to be something around here that flies." Shadow insisted. "You go find a ship, I'll distract the Wookies."

Shadow sped back in the direction of the Wookies, spraying Petro with sand in the process. He brushed off the sand and went to look for a ship.

* * *

Sidious entered Anakin's room.

Anakin glared. "What do you want now?"

Sidious Force Pushed him. "First, you will address me as Master. Second, I need you to retrieve the Sith artifacts the Jedi were keeping locked away in the Temple."

Anakin picked himself up. "Fine, when do we leave?"

"I will not be going with you on this mission. I have… other matters to attend to."

Anakin rose a brow. "You're sending me on this mission alone?"

"You already know the consequences for disappointing me. You will return, and you will bring all of the artifacts. Now go."

* * *

Anakin got out of the ship and looked around at the barely recognizable Coruscant. Large buildings were damaged, droids were everywhere, and the Separatist flag flew from the top of the Senate building. The streets were deserted, implying that everyone was hiding indoors, fearing another attack from that Android.

He approached the Temple, which wasn't looking any better, with all the statues and paintings of the Jedi destroyed. He entered the forbidden rooms of the Temple where they kept Sith artifacts. There were old books and journals written by ancient Sith Lords, there was a neckless with strange carvings in it, and old lightsabers that used to belong to Dark Side warriors.

He collected the artifacts and then proceeded to the holocron vault. He picked up the holocron Petro had opened before and thought that if Petro had opened this holocron and learned from it, why couldn't he? Anakin knew he needed to become stronger in order to defeat Sidious.

He took the holocron and focused. But it didn't open.

"Come on, I need this power!"

Anakin squeezed the holocron tightly. He focused all his rage towards it.

And it opened.

* * *

Obi-wan sat in his cell meditating. It was the only thing he could do besides fret over the fate of Anakin. He then sensed a dark, evil presence. He opened his eyes and saw Sidious standing outside his cell, looking at him.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me."

"You were very foolish to come here."

Obi-wan became serious. "I came to protect Anakin."

"And how do you plan on doing that?"

"When the time is right, I will be free. And me and Anakin will take you down."

Sidious smiled. "Are you certain Skywalker will be on your side when that time comes?"

"Anakin's loyalty will only last as long as Padme is your prisoner."

"His connection to the Dark Side is growing stronger. I can feel it. His turn to the Dark Side is unavoidable."

Obi-wan's expression hardened. "He will never turn to the Dark Side."

"Your denial is truly amusing. I sent Skywalker out to retrieve some Sith artifacts for me. Do you believe he will not be tempted to study them?"

Obi-wan did not respond.

"You know Anakin will do whatever it takes to win."

"You don't know Anakin as well as you think you do."

Sidious's smile widened. "Is that so? Did he ever tell about how he butchered an entire camp of Tuscan Raiders? Or about his marriage to Senator Amidala? I don't believe he did. He didn't think you'd understand. He feared what the Jedi Council would do if they found out. You were practically doing my job for me in pushing him to the Dark!"

Sidious began cackling with glee while Obi-wan began second-guessing every Anakin related decision he had ever made. Padawans were supposed to be able to come to their Masters with any concern. Could he really have failed so badly?

* * *

While the Wookies chased Shadow through the jungle, Petro searched the village for a ship. He was hesitant to be walking around all the smoking trees, but it unlikely he would find a ship anywhere else.

He ears then picked up a small humming sound off in the distance. The sound grew louder as whatever it was grew closer and through the thick wall of smoke came a ship. It landed on a wooden platform a little way above and ahead of Petro. Petro couldn't believe his luck as he approached the ship. It was small, but he and Shadow didn't take up that much space.

The cockpit opened, and Shadow jumped out!

Petro ran forward and used the Force to boost himself up onto the platform. "Hey Shadow, where'd you find that?"

Shadow just looked at him with an empty stare.

Petro hesitated. "Uh, Shadow?"

He then heard the sounds of blasters being fired off in the distance along with Wookies roaring. They were still attacking someone. Petro put two and two together and drew his lightsaber.

"You're not the real Shadow."

The Android observed the child in front of it. The lightsaber gave clear indication that he was a Jedi. The Androids programing dictated that any Jedi found needed to be eliminated. It shot forward and Petro could not react fast enough to prevent its fist from connecting with his face. He was flung backward off the platform.

Shadow shot by as Petro hit the ground and skidded to a surprised halt. He ran back to boy and saw his arm bent at a weird angle. Then the Android dropped down.

Shadow growled at it. "You're gonna pay for that."

He charged the Android and they began exchanging blows. The angry mob of Wookies caught up and were momentarily confused by the sight of two black hedgehogs attempting to pound each other's faces in. They got over it quickly and decided to shoot at both of them.

The two Shadows were forced to break off their engagement in order to avoid the incoming blaster shots. They were fast and hard to hit, but eventually, one of the Wookies got lucky and managed to tag one of them.

The Android's body hit the sand, while its arm went flying off in another direction. Shadow capitalized on this opportunity and ripped its head open with a spin dash. It became obvious then that the Android was a machine and not a living being as wires and circuitry spilled out of the wound.

The Wookies were again momentarily surprised but nevertheless continued to fire at the remaining hedgehog. One of the Wookies then noticed Petro laying on the ground, bleeding. A couple of them ran over to check out his injuries. Shadow saw this and quickly formulated a plan.

Petro moaned as he started to wake up. Only one eye opened, the other was swollen shut. "What…? What's happening?"

Shadow rushed over to Petro, snatched him away from the Wookies, and held him up as a human shield.

"Okay, everyone back off or you'll all get to see what the inside of this kid's brain looks like!"

The Wookies roared in anger but stopped shooting. Shadow began to back away towards the jungle.

He whispered into Petro's ear. "Petro, can you hear me?"

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure you get medical attention. Now here's the story: you're another one of my victims. I've been keeping you as a slave for days."

"But none of that's true at all!"

"No, but it's a story they'll believe and it's a story that'll make them take care of you. Now when they're finished patching you up, take the ship the Android came in on. There's another beach a few miles to the east that I found while I was being chased by Wookies." Shadow explained.

"Why can't we just tell them the truth? The proof is right there that wasn't you who attacked them! If we just explain it to them-"

"All they understand right now is just that there's more than one of me. And they aren't going to be willing to help you if you take my side. Just stick to the story and you'll be fine."

They reached the edge of the jungle. Once inside the trees, Shadow put Petro down and ran off. A large chunk of the Wookies pursued Shadow while a few stayed behind to help Petro.

Petro cried and told them the fake story Shadow made up for him. The Wookies hugged him and promised they would hunt Shadow down and rip his arms off. They took him into one their hunts and began treating his wounds.

Once night fell and the Wookies were asleep, Petro snuck out and headed over to the ship. Flying with one hand was awkward but doable. He took the ship over to the eastern beach where Shadow was waiting.

"Telling them the truth could have worked you know." Petro snapped, annoyed.

"All the actual evidence is against me. The only way telling the truth would work is if they chose to just believe what we told them. And since the first thing they did when we showed up was shoot at us, I don't think they would. Plus, have you seen yourself lately? You look at lot like an abuse victim right now."

Petro winced as he remembered the Wookies' righteous but misplaced anger when they had seen the wounds the Night Brothers had inflicted. Still, lying didn't sit well with him. "But now they're even more convinced that you're a monster! How does that help us?"

"I don't care what they think of me. I'm not staying in this galaxy. Once this is all said and done, you can come back here and tell them whatever you want. But for now, it's back to finding the Chaos Emeralds."


	35. Mini-Wookies

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Rex stared down at the map, waiting for a planet to jump out and say, "This is a good place to hide!" The other high-ranking clones stared with him, most of them in hologram form as they had gotten on different ships when they fled Kamino.

"What about Hoth? No one lives out there."

"There's a good reason for that. The temperature is always below zero, and we don't have enough cold weather gear for everyone."

"What about the Hutts? They've had a good relationship with the Republic ever since we saved Jabba's son at the beginning of the war."

"Are you nuts? Those sleemo's will make us pay for protection and then hand us over to the Separatists anyway!"

"But Jabba hates Dooku and the Separatists!"

"Yeah well, the galaxy has changed a lot since then. They're not going to support the side they believe is going to lose."

"What about Endor?"

Rex turned around in surprise and saw Zatt.

"It's remote, has abundant wildlife, and the only known inhabitants are very primitive."

"We don't know very much about the place, but I think it's our best option." Cody said.

"Alright then. All ships set course for Endor." Rex ordered.

* * *

When the clones reached Endor, they loaded up four gunships to go explore the area below. Then the younglings approached them.

"Captain, we were talking, and we believe we should go with you." Katooni said to Rex.

"Really?"

"Yes. We figured you could use a Jedi's instincts out there."

"Alright then. We'll split you up among each squad. Gungi, you'll be with Wolffe's team. Ganodi, you'll be with Cody. Byph and Zatt, you'll be with Captain Falcon. Katooni, you're with me."

The four gunships departed and descended towards the moon below. They set down in a large clearing and took in the rich vegetation around them.

Rex addressed the group. "Alright, now we need a place where we can establish a real base around here, so we'll each explore in a different direction. Cody, you go east. Wolffe, you go west. Falcon, you south. And I'll head north."

The four teams headed into the forest. After walking a little less than two klicks uphill, Wollfe noticed Gungi staring off into the distance.

"Hey kid, you see something?"

The Wookie responded with a series of growling sounds.

Survivor translated. "I think he said he smells something."

Gungi was indeed taking deep inhales, his nose tilted up.

"it's probably just the local wildlife." Tank said dismissively.

"Let's keep moving." Wollfe decided. "We need to find a place to set up camp before it gets dark."

* * *

Cody's team trooped along with Boil on point. They found themselves trudging through a mud pit.

"Well, we're definitely not making camp here." Sparky commented.

"Why couldn't we find a nice tropical beach to hide at?" Eagle complained.

"At least we're not on the sandy armpit that is Tatooine." Road Kill pointed out.

They came across a dry patch of ground covered in leaves.

"At least there's one spot here that's not covered in mud." Boil said with relief. "Let's take a break here."

He looked hopefully at Cody, who nodded his approval. He really wanted to clean the mud out of his boots.

Boil took a few steps on to the leaves… and then fell into the ground.

The others hurried over to the edge of the revealed pit and peered down.

"Boil! You okay?" Cody called down.

"I think- Ahhhhh!"

He looked at the arm he tried to move and saw a sharp wooden stick pierced through his elbow. He looked at his legs to see another pierced through the top of his right thigh and another through his left knee.

"Nope! Definitely not okay!"

Cody turned to Ganodi. "Can you lift him out?"

"Uhhh, I think so."

She walked up to the edge of the hole and stretched out her hands. Boil screamed as he started to lift off the spikes. The sound startled Ganodi and she dropped him, causing him to scream again.

"Be careful!" Sparky snapped. "Dropping him makes the wounds worse!"

"Sorry!"

Ganodi tried again, this time maintaining her concentration through Boil's screams of agony. Sparky had the first aid kit out and set to work at once.

"Guys look!" Eagle pointed at multiple sets of tiny footprints on the opposite side of the pit. "I'm pretty sure this territory belongs to the natives."

"Well if they're living in this mud pit, I say they can have it." Road Kill said.

"Well, I hate to tell you this, but until we find a way to get Boil back to the gunships, we're stuck here." Sparky informed them.

Cody called the gunships back at the landing site, where the pilots stayed to keep an eye on them.

"Hey Crash, we have a man down and we need a stretcher to move him. We're about five clicks east."

"Say no more. We're coming."

"What about the natives?" Ganodi asked. "People who build spike traps usually aren't friendly."

"We'll have to keep watch. Hopefully they won't come by until after we're gone." Cody replied.

* * *

Falcon's group came upon a cave.

"This might a be nice place to hole up." Nightcrawler suggested.

Falcon peered into the cave. "Hey, there's light coming from inside! I think this place might already be claimed."

Byph spoke in his native language and hid behind Deck.

"He says he has a bad feeling about this cave." Zatt translated.

"Well we just have to check this out!" Wild Card declared and strode into the cave.

"Wild Card get back here!"

"There's no one in here, there's just a bunch of torches!"

"Whoever lit them might be coming back!"

"Well when they do, we'll them this cave is ours now because this place is perfect!"

"This is someone's home! We're not just going to barge in and take it from them!" Falcon was running out of patience. "Wild Card, I'm giving you a direct order to get out of that cave!"

There was no response.

"Wild Card!"

Complete silence.

The other clones became concerned. Wild Card never knew when to shut up. Why was he so quiet?

Falcon then marched into the cave to get him, but he didn't see him inside.

"Wild Card?"

His voice echoed through the cave, but there was still no response. On closer inspection of the cave floor, he saw a trail of blood. This set off alarm bells in Falcon's mind. He readied his blaster and followed the trail. He heard chittering coming from around a corner.

Falcon rounded the corner and found Wild Card. There was a gaping, bloody hole in his back and standing around him were what had to be the natives. There were three of them. They resembled small Wookies and they poked at Wild Card's body with crude spears.

Falcon opened fire at once. How dare they kill his brother!

He succeeded in killing two of them, but the third escaped deeper into the cave. Falcon picked up Wild Card's body and went back the way he came. The others gasped in shock when emerged from the cave.

"What happened in there?" Clutz asked.

"It was the natives. This cave isn't safe. Let's get out of here before more natives show up."

The sound of a horn being blown echoed through the trees.

"I don't like the sound of that." Nightcrawler commented.

A pouch flew out of the bushes and burst open on the ground. A cloud of brightly glowing insects emerged and started stinging the group. They left painful burns wherever they touched.

"What are these things?" Zatt yelled.

They scattered, trying to get away from the strange bugs.

"Everyone fall back! Fall back and regroup!" Falcon ordered.

One of the natives jumped out of the tress and onto Deck's back.

"Ahhh! Someone get this thing off me!"

Nightcrawler grabbed it and pulled it off of him. He then slammed the vicious mini-Wookie on the ground and shot it.

"Thanks brother."

"Don't mention-Agggh!"

Nightcrawler went down with an arrow in his throat.

"They're in the trees!" Zatt cried.

Rocks began to rain down from above.

"Everyone, retreat! Retreat!" Falcon shouted.

Everyone turned and pelted back the way they came. Clutz was ahead of everyone else, until he tripped over a rope and was crushed under a net full of boulders. Byph and Zatt kept running as Falcon and Deck tried to pull him out from under the pile. But more mini-Wookies charged out of the brush to attack.

Three of them ganged up on Deck and stabbed him to death with their spears. Falcon shot the two in front of him only for a third to stab him in the leg from behind. He fell to the ground. The creature tried to grab at his head, but Captain Falcon punched it away.

He tried to get up, but his wounded leg crumpled beneath him. Falcon shouted in pain as he fell again. He heard a twig snap and blindly fired in the direction of the sound. He fumbled for his comm and sent out a distress call.

"Can anyone hear me?"

* * *

Wolffe's group had stopped in a clearing for lunch.

"This might be a good spot for base." Mech commented.

Wolffe's commlink beeped as it received the distress signal.

"Can anyone hear me?"

"Falcon, this is Wolffe. I read you. What's going on?"

"My team encountered the natives! They are extremely hostile! They killed everybody! They messed up my leg, I can't run! I can hear them all around me! We've got to- Ahhhhhhh!"

"Falcon? Falcon do you read me? Break time's over men, we need to move!"

Gungi started freaking out and pointed frantically into the woods.

"What is it? What do you see?"

Wolffe didn't have to wait long for an answer as he heard the sound of a horn and dozens of small, furry creatures charged out of the forest.


	36. Nightmare on Endor

**Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it, and hope everyone else has a good holiday too!**

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Cody's group waited impatiently for help to arrive.

"Where are they?" Sparky demanded.

"Yeah, this is taking way too long." Road Kill agreed.

"Something isn't right. Let me call them again." Cody turned on his commlink. "Hey Crash, where are you?"

No response.

"Crash? Crash are you there?"

"Hold on, I hear something." Eagle listened intently. He took a few steps back in the direction they originally came from.

"What'd you hear?" Road Kill asked.

"It kind of sounded like a voice. Cody, try contacting Crash again."

Cody obliged and called into comm again. As he did, Eagle heard the same sound coming from off in the distance.

"I think Crash might be closer than we think."

Cody and Eagle went to investigate, leaving the others to watch over Boil. Following the sounds, they found Crash facedown in the mud, blood oozing out of his armor.

"Didn't he take anybody with him? He knows better than to go into strange territory alone." Cody questioned.

"Maybe he didn't, and the other guy is dead somewhere too." Eagle suggested.

"Okay, it's too dangerous to stay here. We need to get back to the ships."

"What about Boil?"

"We'll just have to carry him. Let's go."

* * *

Rex's crew walked through the sun dappled trees to the north.

"Stupid bugs." Havoc grumbled as he waved at a fly buzzing in his face, then tripped over a root. "Stupid plants. Stupid sun!"

"Can you knock it off with your stupid complaints?" Jesse snapped. "We don't need to like this place, it just needs to be a safe place for us to hide."

Katooi then stopped in her tracks. "We need to go."

"What?" Dauntless asked.

"Something's happening, something really bad. I can feel it."

The clones all looked at each other. Everything seemed perfectly fine, but they knew by now that trusting a Jedi's instincts was the best course of action.

"Alright then. Let's move out and get back to the gunships." Rex ordered.

* * *

It was a tight squeeze for both Shadow and Petro in the Android's ship. For one thing, they were two people in a ship meant for one. For another, that one was only three feet tall. They managed it with Shadow curled up in Petro's lap with Petro hunched over and curled around Shadow.

"We are heading to the nearest civilized planet and exchanging this sardine can for a bigger ship."

"Agreed."

A few moments of silence.

"You know, for a guy covered in spikes, you're surprisingly soft." Petro observed, running his fingers through Shadow's fur.

"Can you not?" Shadow snapped harshly.

"Sorry."

"Whatever. How does this thing work?"

Petro gave Shadow a quick tutorial on how to use the navigational computer.

"Looks like the nearest place is… oh no."

"Is this the usual type of 'oh no' or is this a new 'oh no'?"

"This is the usual 'oh no'. The closest planet is Trandosha. This is the home planet of the Trandoshans. They are some of the nastiest scum bags in the galaxy."

Shadow wasn't concerned. "Good. Then I won't feel bad when we steal from them."

"Are you sure you want to stop there for a ship and not just keep this one?"

"I've already lost the feeling in my left foot. We're going." Shadow launched the ship into hyperspace.

"So…" Petro began. "How do you make those kinds of decisions?"

"What do you mean? We need a new ship so we're getting one."

"Not just this decision, but all of your decisions. Like the very first day you showed up in this galaxy you decided to turn the clones against the Republic."

"I _freed_ them." Shadow corrected. "Because it was the right thing to do."

"You knew what you were doing would result in the Republic falling, so I think any other person would spend just a little more time thinking about it. But you made up your mind in just a couple hours. Were you at all concerned about the long-term consequences of this?"

"Sitting around and thinking about problems does not solve them. Making the wrong decision is better than making no decision at all. If I chose to think about it longer, more clones would have died in a war they were forced to participate in. True, the consequences for doing so were far worse than anyone could have imagined, but I regret nothing. I did what I felt was right and that's what matters."

"So, you just don't regret anything at all in life? Not even…"

"I do regret a few actions I've taken in the past. But the biggest regret is the time I didn't choose to act. And that is why I don't wait and think about it. It's better to choose who dies than let someone else choose for you."

Petro could sense that Shadow was intensely uncomfortable, and it wasn't because they were crammed together in a tiny ship (okay it was, but it wasn't just that). Luckily, they had arrived at their destination, so they could move on to a different subject.

"Okay, let's get that ship."

* * *

Rex's team arrived back at the gunships. The first thing they noticed was that two of the four pilots left to guard the ships were gone.

"Where's Crash and Rock?" Rex asked.

"A member of Cody's team got injured so they took a stretcher and went to go help." Caramel answered. "But they should have come back by now."

Cody's team picked that moment to return. Sparky had Boil's shoulders and Road Kill had his feet. There was no stretcher or Crash or Rock.

Rex studied them, confused. "Why aren't Crash and Rock with you?"

"They're dead. They were killed by the natives. We are obviously not welcome here." Cody explained. "We need to call everyone back and evacuate."

Gungi sprinted back into the clearing. Wolffe came behind him dragging Survivor, who had several arrows sticking out of him. Wolffe had his blaster out and was shooting behind at a group of natives that chased him out of the trees. Rex's group quickly shot them down.

"What happened to the rest of your team?"

"They're dead." Wolffe panted. "Those mini-Wookies killed them all! We need to evacuate now!"

"What about Falcon's team?"

"I received a distress signal from them. I think they're all dead."

A terrified Zatt then ran into the clearing. "Help! They got Byph!"

"Everyone into the ships. We are leaving." Wolffe ordered.

"Wait! What about Byph? He's still out there!" Zatt cried.

"He's probably already dead. Let's go."

"No, he's still alive! I can sense it!"

"Well it's not worth the risk to go get him. We're leaving." Wolffe declared and dragged Survivor onto one of the ships.

Rex gaped at him. "You're not seriously saying we should leave him out there to die, are you?"

Wolffe's glare could be felt through the helmet. "Me and Survivor barely made it back. Falcon's team didn't make back at all. If we go out there, we're gonna lose more men. And for what? A Jedi?"

"But he's just a kid!"

"Don't you get it Rex? The Jedi are responsible for every bad thing that's happened to us! They forced us to fight in their war, they're the reason Kamino got destroyed, and they're the ones who suggested that we come here! And I refuse to lose another man because of a Jedi!"

Rex was silent for several moments, then said, "If you want to go, go. But I'm not leaving without him." He turned to Zatt. "Where did you last see him?"

Wolffe sighed. "Fine whoever wants to stay can stay. But we're not going to wait up there forever for you."

When the ships lifted off, Rex was left with the younglings, Edge, Cody, Jesse, Dauntless, and Havoc as well as one gunship.

"With all that complaining, I'd thought you'd first onto the ship." Jesse commented.

Havoc snorted. "So you could tell everyone I was too afraid to fight a bunch of furballs with sticks and rocks? No thanks."

Rex got everyone's attention. "Alright men, we only have a couple of hours until the sun goes down, so let's move out!"

Zatt lead the way out of the clearing. They hiked for miles and eventually night fell. It was so dark they couldn't see their hands in front of their faces. They switched on their flashlights and kept moving.

Edge was starting to regret staying. Every small noise he heard made him increasingly paranoid. Then as he was looking around, he tripped over a wire. A huge log swung down, and Edge braced for impact.

But the log didn't hit him. Instead, it swung back and forth several feet above him.

"You alright there, Edge?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Good thing those stupid natives didn't set up this trap very well."

"I don't think that trap was built with us in mind." Katooni observed. "Those natives aren't the only creatures that live here."

"Well we can speculate about that later. We're on a rescue mission." Rex reminded them.

They kept walking until they saw the light of a campfire. They could hear the mini-Wookies singing. They quietly crept closer.

Dauntless peered through his binoculars into the camp and was met with a horrifying sight. Strung over the fires were the unmistakable carcasses of his dead brothers. He had to look away before he threw up.

Havoc grabbed the binoculars and looked himself. The first thing he saw was the mini-Wookies using clone helmets as drums. Others were dancing and eating chunks of meat. Havoc grabbed a thermal detonator.

"Those little furry-"

Rex cut him off. "Easy, Havoc. Remember, we're here on a rescue mission. Do you see Byph anywhere?"

Havoc looked again. He saw Byph hanging like the others with the mini-Wookies piling wood underneath him.

"I see him! He's over there on the left!"

Rex began spelling out the plan. "Alright, we don't have a lot of time, so we need to make this fast. One of us needs to sneak over and get Byph while the rest of us make a distraction on the right. Once he's free, we all make a run back to the ship."

Gungi held up his hand and spoke.

"He volunteers to go get Byph." Ganodi translated.

"Alright, you wait here. Once we have their attention, go get Byph."

The clones and other younglings snuck over to the right.

Havoc held up the detonator still in his hand. "Now?"

"Now." Rex confirmed.


	37. The Death of Anakin Skywalker

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The Ewok sat on a log, enjoying the freshly cooked… whatever this creature was. A small, round object suddenly struck him in the back of the head. He squealed and growled at the offending object. It was the strangest rock he had ever seen. It was perfectly round and had a strange, smooth texture. It also made a bizarre beeping sound and had a blinking red light.

Wondering if it was eatable, he licked it.

He died in a ball of fire.

The clones opened fire on the small creatures as they ran around in a panic. Gungi ran over to Byph but he did not go unnoticed. They threw their spears at him. Gungi jumped over the spears and slammed down on top of one of the natives. He took out his lightsaber and sliced through the one next to him. Gungi Force pushed the last one away and made it to Byph.

Byph had been beaten savagely. Gungi could feel him trembling as he gathered the smaller youngling into his arms. He was about to signal the clones when a new scent caught his attention. This one was different from the natives. He ground beneath his feet begin to shake. Gungi heard a loud crunching as something moved through the trees closer to him.

It was about twenty-five feet tall, it was hairy, it had big teeth and pointy ears.

Gungi ran.

"What is that?" Dauntless shouted.

"That might be the thing the trap was built for!" Jesse replied.

"Who cares what it is?" Edge cried. "We got Byph, let's go!"

The giant attacker had been swiping at the mini-Wookies, but when it saw the clones it decided to chase them instead.

"Why couldn't this place have gotten blown up instead?" Havoc wailed.

They shot at it as they ran, but this only made the monster angry.

"Lead him over this way!" Zatt called.

He led them back to the log trap they set off earlier.

"The trap?" Cody asked. "How will this help? It already went off!"

In answer, Zatt moved the log back into place with the Force, and when the monster was close enough, he let it go. It swung down and struck the monster in the head, knocking it down. Rex quickly ran over to it and shot it in the eyes.

"Nice work kid! Now let's leave this godforsaken place behind."

* * *

Shadow squeezed the Trandoshan's throat until he stopped fighting.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

He and Petro boarded the ship and left. It was a two-person spacecraft, much more comfortable than the ship they abandoned.

"Much better." Shadow sighed appreciatively as he flew the ship away from Trandosha.

"Um, Shadow, they're following us."

Laser fire flew at them from the pursuing ships.

"What weapons does this ship have?"

"Just a pair of front mounted laser cannons. You'll have to get behind them if you want to use them."

Shadow looked down at the scanner and gripped the Chaos Emerald. "I think I can make that happen."

* * *

"Hehe, we got him now." The Trandoshan pilot laughed. "There's no way- Wait! Where'd they go?"

"They were just here! Ahhhh!" His ship exploded.

"They're behind us! How?"

The Trandoshan did not have time to piece it together before he was blown up as well.

* * *

"Whoa! Did you just teleport the whole ship?"

"Yes, I did." Shadow said matter-of-factly. "So now that we've taken care of that, where are we going to next?"

"The next planet we haven't checked yet is Sullest."

"Sullest it is."

* * *

Anakin was meditating. Sidious had described the Sith meditation technique, then left him to his own devices. For someone so eager to have Anakin as his apprentice, Sidious didn't seem to be interested in doing much training.

A few hours later, Sidious returned. "The time has come for your first true test."

"And what would that be?"

Sidious did not answer and just motioned for him to follow. They went his throne room. One wall was made up entirely of windows, giving a view of the stars. The room empty except for the throne itself, an imposing piece of metal with plush padding on the seat.

A few moments later, two droids came in dragging Padme. Anakin hadn't seen her since the trip to Dathomir. A bandage had been applied to the stump of her right arm. Her hair was a mess and there were dark circles under her eyes.

Padme's eyes briefly lit up when she saw Anakin, then she remembered that she was here so that Sidious could make him do something.

Not a moment later, Obi-wan was dragged in by two Cortosis Sonic droids. He was also disheveled, but at least he still had two arms. Padme was brought over to Sidious's chair while Obi-wan was dragged out to the center of the room.

"Leave us." The droids departed. "Master Kenobi, I would like to thank you for delivering yourself to me. Otherwise, you probably would have escaped with the rest of your allies. But once again, you've managed to do my work for me. Now my apprentice, someone here is about to die. And you are going to choose who it is." Sidious grinned evilly. "So choose, your master or your wife."

Every bone in Anakin's body shook with fear as he heard these words.

"No!" Padme shrieked. "You can't do this to him! You can't!"

"The choice is his to make."

"Monster!" Padme threw a punch at him, only to have her hand stopped inches from his face. She was silenced and immobilized.

"You don't like the choices I have provided? Fine, I'll add a third one." Sidious pulled Obi-wan's lightsaber from his sleeve and tossed it to him. "The two of you can attempt to kill me, but I can guarantee Miss Amidala will certainly die first."

Obi-wan's mind was buzzing, trying to come up with some idea to get out of this predicament. Eventually, only one suitable option came to mind.

"Anakin I sorry but, I don't think we can save her."

Anakin looked at him, horrified. "What?"

"He needs to be stopped. This could be our last chance."

"But Padme will die!"

"I know, but right now you have to do what's best for the galaxy. You're a Jedi, you know this!"

"You Jedi just love to use that excuse, don't you?" Sidious taunted. "Just how many innocent lives were sacrificed for the 'greater good'? The Jedi philosophy is nothing but childish beliefs and half-truths. Anakin understands that, don't you? You know what you want, and you know what you must do to get it. Now do it!"

Anakin activated his blade and swung at Obi-wan, who barely had enough time to activate his own blade to block it. A tornado of emotions circled through Obi-wan's body. First, shock and fear at being attacked. Then, anger and betrayal at the fact that Anakin was the one attacking him. And finally, sadness as he registered the anguished expression on Anakin's tear-streaked face.

Anakin continuously attacked while Obi-wan focused on defense. Anakin screamed in rage and sorrow as he repeatedly slammed his lightsaber into Obi-wan's blade. Sidious cackled in delight as he watched the battle. Padme could only cry silently as her husband tried to kill his friend.

Anakin tried to power through his master's defenses but every time he came up against a wall. He swung harder and harder, but then Obi-wan counterattacked by smashing his blade against Anakin's as hard as he could. Anakin's lightsaber was knocked from his grasp. Obi-wan followed up with a high kick to Anakin's chest. He fell and hit the ground hard.

"How could you Anakin? You were the Chosen One! You were my brother!"

Sidious rose from his seat. "Very disappointing, apprentice. And you already know the price for failure."

He pulled out his lightsaber and picked up Padme with the Force.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Anakin stretched out his left hand and lightning shot from his fingertips. Obi-wan was thrown back from the powerful force. He tried to stand back up, only to be shot with lighting again. Sidious stared, pleasantly surprised by what he was seeing. Anakin used the Force to retrieve his lightsaber and steal Obi-wan's.

He placed the two blades at Obi-wan's neck. He looked up into Anakin's eyes.

"I have failed you Anakin. I'm sorry."

The screeching sounds of the blades sliding against each other echoed through the room. After the sound faded, there was a moment of silence. It was quickly broken by the sound of slow clapping.

"Congratulations. Your journey to the Dark Side is complete. Anakin Skywalker is now dead. Henceforth, you shall be known as Darth… Vader _._ "

The former Jedi dropped to his knees in front of him. "I will do whatever you ask of me… Master."

"Yes, you will. But for now, enjoy your reward for passing the test."

With that, Sidious swept out of the room, leaving his apprentice and his wife alone. Padme quickly got up off the floor, not believing that Sidious actually just left the two of them alone. She ran over to Anakin and hugged him.

"Quickly, now is our chance to make a run for it!"

Anakin stayed on the ground, motionless and silent.

"Anakin come on!" She tugged at his arm. "Come on, we have to go!"

"No… we can't." His voice was flat and lifeless.

"I know it's hard, but there's no time to grieve right now! We have to-"

"No! We can't risk it!"

"I saw an escape pod just down the hallway! We can make it!"

"Even if we do, where would we go? Wherever we go, he will find us, and he will kill you! And I will not let that happen."

Padme was getting frustrated. "Well whether you like it or not, I'm leaving. I not going to watch you do this to yourself."

She walked towards the door. She was about to open it when she was lifted off the ground by the Force.

"I can't let you do that."

"Anakin!"

"I not going to let anything else happen to you! I've already sacrificed too much."

Anakin dragged Padme down the hall to the prison sector.

He locked her away as she shouted, "Anakin no! This isn't you!"

"It is now."

As Anakin walked back to his quarters, he took time to breathe and think about what had just transpired.

 _How could I have let this happen? How did it all come to this point?_

He quickly brushed those questions aside, deciding it didn't matter now. Padme was all he had left. And he would become whatever he had to in order to protect her. His old life was gone. Anakin Skywalker had failed.

But Darth Vader will not.


	38. Firefight

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

"There's an Emerald down there!" Petro said excitedly.

"Finally, some good news. But I'm assuming there's a catch somewhere in all this?"

"Well, there's also a large droid factory down there."

"And there it is." Shadow resignedly began lowering the ship.

* * *

Lok Durd resentfully filed another piece of paperwork. When he was freed from Republic prison a few weeks ago, he was overjoyed. But then had been demoted to factory overseer. He'd barely had time to get acquainted with his new position before that blasted scientist had come storming in and rearranged everything.

He was annoying, never shut up, always acted like he was smarter that everyone else, and even called Lok a sloppy simpleton. If his testing of his Defoliator Tank hadn't ended in such a disaster, he wouldn't be here right now. How was he supposed to know there were three Jedi on some random backwater world?

Lok desperately wanted to return to his rank of general, back where he had power. But how? How could he prove his worth in a position like this?

As he finished the last of the report that Eggman demanded from him, one of the new droids walked into his office.

"An unidentified ship has entered the system, sir."

"Send a probe droid to investigate."

* * *

Shadow held the Emerald scanner in his hands as he looked around.

"It should be right over… there!" Shadow looked where he was pointing and saw a big pool of lava. "Please tell me this thing is malfunctioning."

"Nope. That Emerald is definitely down there."

"Fantastic. Now how are we supposed to get it out?"

"Well I could try lifting it out with the Force." Petro suggested.

Shadow nodded and Petro stretched out his good arm and concentrated. Unbeknownst to them, a probe droid was watching them.

* * *

Watching the footage transmitted by the droid, Lok Durd recognized Shadow. The new mysterious creature he'd been hearing about. The thing that had been terrorizing the galaxy.

This was it! This was his chance!

* * *

Petro focused, searching the lava with mental feelers. He passed them over rocks until he encountered one that was too smooth, too perfectly shaped.

"I've got it!"

Petro gripped the Emerald and began to lift. His concentration was broken as a shot flew past him and Shadow dragged him under cover.

"It's a sniper! Keep your head down!"

"I almost had it, just give me one minute!"

"I'll distract the snipers, you get the Emerald." Shadow instructed.

He activated his jet shoes and rocketed out into the open. Just as planned, the snipers focused their fire on him. Petro returned to the pool of lava and felt around for the Emerald again. After finding the same shaped rock again, he started lifting it out of the lava. A brightly shining silver Emerald emerged from the lava.

Petro was about to call to Shadow when he felt a strong stinging sensation in his back. The Emerald dropped to the ground and Petro suddenly couldn't move his arms. His entire body went numb. He couldn't even feel the impact of his face colliding with the ground. Before he blacked out, he caught the slight glimpse of robotic feet.

Shadow glanced back at Petro to see what was taking so long and saw a robot with Petro in one hand and the Emerald in the other making its way back to the factory. In his moment of distraction, a searing pain impacted Shadow's leg and he went down. He flung a Chaos Spear back at the sniper and rolled towards cover. Shadow spotted the robot carrying Petro as it walked inside the factory.

"Dammit!"

* * *

"I sent you out there to get the furry creature, and you bring me this child. Why?" Lok Durd glared at the robot carrying Petro.

"The child was carrying a lightsaber and protocol dictates that all Jedi be detained. The child was also in possession of a Chaos Emerald." The robot held the gem up for emphasis.

Lok regarded the gem. Chaos Emeralds, he had heard of those before. He remembered when that new scientist had come by and given him a list of all the new rules and regulations. Lok had stopped listening halfway through, but he did remember hearing about Chaos Emeralds. Perhaps this would be enough to get him back to the top. He grabbed the Emerald, only to drop it immediately as he felt a burning pain.

"AHHHHH! Why is it so hot?"

"The boy retrieved it from a pool of lava."

"Now you tell me! Put the Emerald in my office, put the kid in the detention center, and get me a med droid!"

* * *

Shadow was about to charge into that factory and destroy every robot in sight, but the aching pain in his knee told him that was a bad idea. While thinking about other options, he looked up and saw the probe droid watching him.

Shadow growled and launched himself at the droid, ignoring the pain the movement cost him. The droid, which had ventured just a little too close, was tackled and pinned.

"Hey! I know someone's watching this! I want to talk to whoever's in charge in there!"

The droid attempted to shoot Shadow, but he ripped the droid's small blaster away. A few moments passed, then a hologram appeared. The alien reminded Shadow of a moustache-less Eggman, except somehow even uglier.

"So, you wish to negotiate? You're a lot more intelligent than I expected. All the reports described you as a savage animal."

Shadow bared his teeth. "A lot of people say that sort of thing about me. Sometimes they're even right."

"I'm assuming this is about that Chaos Jewel or whatever?"

"No, it's about the kid."

Lok blinked. "The young Jedi? What could you possibly want with him?"

"I want you to let him go."

"Interesting, but why would I do that?"

"Because if you do I'll surrender. But if you don't, I'll call in the clone army to demolish this place."

Lok narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And what makes this child so important to you?"

"You don't need to know that. All you need to know is that I'm a much more valuable target than him."

Lok thought about this. He was right. This creature was the most valuable prize in the entire galaxy. His capture would promote him to Supreme Commander of the entire Separatist army.

"You've got yourself a deal. Meet me at the front gates unarmed."

Shadow released the probed droid and limped over to the front gates. He stood waiting outside while the robots guarding the door watched him carefully. After a while the door opened, and Lok Durd came out, followed by a droid escort and Petro.

"Shadow, what are you doing?"

"Don't worry about me, just get to the ship and fire up the engines."

The droids placed binders on Shadow's arms and brought him inside. Lok marched Shadow straight to his office to show him off to Dooku. As he activated the desk-mounted holoprojector, Shadow saw the Chaos Emerald sitting on the desk.

Shadow smirked. This was going to be even easier than he thought.

A hologram of Dooku appeared.

"Count Dooku, I have a special surprise for you."

"That's not actually the real Dooku." Shadow informed Lok. "The real one died a few days ago."

Lok looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"That guy you're talking to? That's an android."

"What? I don't know where you're coming up with these stories, but they won't help you."

"I don't need any help. I can escape any time I want to."

Lok laughed. "Now I know you're making stuff up. How could you possibly escape?"

"I'm guessing Eggman didn't tell you about me?"

"Tell me about you? He told me about everything! And never stopped!"

"Well clearly you didn't pay close enough attention, otherwise you would know that I can do this!"

Shadow broke the binders, snatched the Chaos Emerald off the desk, and disappeared in a flash of light.

Lok Durd's jaw fell to the floor.

The hologram behind him spoke up. "So, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Uh… I uh… I'll have to call you back."

* * *

Petro sat in the pilot's seat wondering what to do. He was startled by a sudden flash of light behind him and the smell of burnt fur assaulted his nose. Shadow gasped in pain and dropped the Emerald.

"Shadow?"

"Don't worry about me! Just fly!"

Petro quickly got them a safe distance away from the planet, then turned back to Shadow, who had stripped off his ruined glove. There were small, sharp claws tipping each finger and a paw pad on his palm. The paw pad and fingers currently featured second-degree burns.

"You're hurt!"

"It's just a burn, it'll heal." Shadow climbed into his seat but couldn't hide a wince.

"Your leg is hurt too!"

"Will you stop worrying about me? Now what's our next destination?"

Petro was already searching for a first-aid kit but then paused for a moment. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Because the sooner we find the Chaos Emer-"

"No, I mean why is it that every time you're hurt, you pretend you're fine?"

"Because I am fine!"

"No, you're ignoring the problem!"

"It isn't a problem. The problem is we don't have all the Emeralds." Shadow insisted.

Petro paused for another moment. "Every time you get hurt, you just keep carrying on with what you were doing. You care more about the mission than yourself. Why? Doesn't your life mean anything to you? Couldn't the mission wait just a little while for you to heal first?"

"Things don't get done if you wait. And speaking of which, we should stop waiting and move on to the next planet."

Shadow moved over to the pilot's seat, but Petro stopped him.

"We're not going anywhere until you're bandaged up."

"I'm told you I'm-"

"No! You are not fine!" Pero yelled.

"Why do you care?" Shadow yelled back.

"Why do you not care? Why does your life mean so little to you?"

"Because my mission is my life! Everything else is gone!" Shadow's voice broke on the last word.

There was a long moment of silence where Petro studied Shadow while he tried to get himself back under control. Petro sensed strong feelings of anger, regret, sadness, and fear. He tried to come up with something to say, but nothing seemed right.

Shadow then turned back to the controls and launched the ship into hyperspace.


	39. Old Enemies and new Friends

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Rex, once again, found himself staring at a map with the other high-ranking officers.

"So where else can we go?"

"We need a planet that's isolated, not controlled by the Separatists, and not a place anyone would look for us." Rex reminded them.

"And it doesn't have any bloodthirsty natives." Wolffe grumbled.

"I still think the Hutts are our best bet."

"They're criminals, we can't trust them!"

"Technically, we're criminals too."

Rex concentrated on the map, ignoring the debate. One planet in particular stuck out to him. "What about Jakku?"

"Jakku? What planet is that?" Cody asked.

"A desert planet near the unknown regions." Rex pointed at the map.

"What do we know about this planet?" Wolffe questioned.

"It's very sparsely populated and posses no valuable natural resources. It's the perfect hiding spot." Rex concluded.

"Well, it's not like we got many other options." Wolffe conceded.

* * *

Yoda woke up feeling quite well rested. He looked around, noting that he was in the med bay. And he wasn't alone.

Byph lay in another bed, covered in bruises. There were two clones as well, each covered in bandages.

"Escape, did we?"

"Oh, we escaped all right. But that's not where we got banged up." Survivor explained the disastrous trip to Endor. "I wasn't there to see what happened to him," Survivor waved his hand at Byph, "But apparently the natives kidnapped him, and Captain Rex led a team to go get him back."

Byph spoke up and described his experience. Boil said nothing because he was sleeping.

"Everyone else is probably deciding where we should go next." Survivor went on.

"Meet with the commanders, I will."

Yoda got out of bed and made his way to the bridge. He felt a great amount of tension from the clones he passed along the way. Things weren't much better up on the bridge. The only one giving off friendly vibes was Rex.

"Good to see you up. We've decided to head to Jakku."

"We've reached the system sir!"

"Good but just to be safe, do a planetary bio-scan." Rex ordered. "I don't want any surprises this time."

Yoda decided to check on the other younglings. He found them in their quarters and the room was full of negative energy.

"What troubles you, young ones?"

They perked up a little at the sight of Yoda, but then sank back down when he asked his question.

"The clones wanted to leave Byph for dead on Endor." Katooni stated flatly.

Shock coursed through Yoda. He knew that the clones had been resentful of the Jedi ever since the truth about the biochips was uncovered, but he didn't imagine they would take it this far.

"Speak to the clone commanders about this, I will."

As Yoda made his way back to the bridge, shock turned into anger. Yes, what had been done to the clones was deeply wrong, but that was hardly Byph's fault!

When he got there, only Rex and Wolffe were in the room. The other commanders had only been present in hologram form and had signed off as soon as the decision about where to go had been made.

"Leave one of the younglings behind, did you?"

Rex was about to say no but Wolff cut him off.

"So what if we did?"

"A child, he is!" Yoda snapped. "Responsible for your troubles, he is not!"

"Going to retrieve him would have only resulted in more casualties. It wasn't worth the risk." Wolffe coolly explained. "I figured you would understand this since it's what you Jedi say every time a clone is left stranded on the battlefield."

"The same, this is not!"

Rex's eyes flicked indecisively between the verbal combatants. Brotherly loyalty and the fact the Wolffe had a point pulled him one way, but on the other hand, Byph _was_ just a kid and they _did_ rescue him without losing anyone else…

However, his thoughts on the matter were interrupted when lieutenant Frost said, "Uh, Captain? I think you're gonna wanna see this!"

Thankful for the distraction, Rex walked over to him. "You got the results from the bioscan?"

"Yeah the scan reads no life forms. But that's not what I wanted you to see. I did another scan of the planet and picked up thousands of ships on the surface.

"Ships? But no life forms?" Rex wondered what that could possibly mean.

"They're Separatist ships, sir."

These words hit Rex like a brick.

"Separatist… ships?"

"Yeah, the old ones."

"What were they doing out here?"

"I don't know, but I recommend that we get out of here now."

Rex thought. "Do they know we're here?"

"Well they haven't attacked us yet, so I'd say no."

"Jam all of their scanners." Rex ordered. "We'll send a team down to investigate."

"What?" Wolffe asked.

"If we're going to beat them, we can't just run every time we see them. Me, Shade, and Will are going down there to see what's going on." Rex declared.

The three clones set down several miles from the cluster of Separatist ships and hiked their way over.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Will asked.

"If you want big rewards, you have to take big risks." Rex replied.

The cluster of ships was in view and they scanned the area with their binoculars. The ships were sitting side by side and there were no droids in sight.

"Maybe they're abandoned?" Shade suggested hesitantly.

"No, that doesn't make sense." Rex objected. "They would have scraped them for parts, not dumped them on some random planet."

"Wait, what are those on top of the ships?" Shade pointed at several panels on top of the ships.

Rex and Will zoomed in on them with their binoculars.

"Those look like solar panels." Rex answered.

Will took a few steps closer to get a better look. He felt his foot press down on something metal. As soon as he realized the horrible mistake he made, the ray shield popped into existence around them. Moments later, two squads of battle droids exited a nearby ship and approached them.

"Welp, we're dead." Will said.

The droids stunned them and took them inside.

* * *

"General, we discovered three Republic clones in sector 2687. They appear to be scouts."

"Bring them to me for interrogation." Kalani ordered.

The captured clones were presented to him.

"Why are you here?"

"Why are we here? Why are you here?" Rex shot back.

"I have no need to answer your questions. But you will answer mine."

Shade ignored that and asked, "The entire droid army was replaced. How have you not been scrapped?"

"Silence."

"And why is most of your equipment switched off?" Rex said, looking at all the deactivated monitors. "You don't have that much power out here. You're stranded, aren't you?"

"Enough!" Kalani bellowed and punched Rex in the face.

Rex fell to the ground, but Shade kept going.

"The entire clone fleet is above you right now, and when they don't hear from us…"

"We are not stranded. We are not out of power. We are conserving energy for emergency situations. If your Republic friends attack, we will obliterate you."

Rex got back up, recovering from the punch. "And if they don't attack?"

"I am not looking for conflict. All I want from you is to leave."

Rex was confused. "You don't want to fight? Isn't that what your built for?"

"I was built to calculate the best course of action for success." Kalani corrected.

"So, your version of success is just making us leave?"

"No more questions. You contact your Republic allies and tell them to leave."

"What about us?" Will asked.

"If your fleet does not leave, then you will be executed."

"And if they do decide to leave then what?" Will pressed.

"If I let you go, there will nothing stopping you from coming back. You will stay here as my prisoners."

"Oh."

* * *

Wolffe and Yoda glared silently at each other from opposite sides of the bridge.

"We're receiving an incoming transmission."

Wolffe answered. "Rex, what have you found?"

Rex appeared, but with a super tactical droid beside him.

"You and your forces will leave this system immediately or your friends will be executed."

"Why do you even care if we're here?" Wolffe demanded. "This planet has no strategic value."

Then Yoda approached the table. "Valuable, it could be, depending on one's goals. Here, for the same reason we are. Hiding, you are."

"That is irrelevant." Kalani dismissed.

"Replaced, you were. Afraid of being scrapped, you are. That is why you are here."

Kalani was silent for a long moment. "You are clever, Jedi. After the Republic surrender, the Separatist Alliance began to change quickly. Count Dooku ordered the death of key Separatist leaders and allies. I could not see the benefit in such attacks. It seemed that Dooku was trying to destroy everything that the Separatist Alliance was. And when Dooku ordered the droid army to be scrapped, I calculated only a 27% chance for me to avoid the same fate. So I fled to this system, where I hoped I would be undiscovered. An empty wasteland with nothing to offer. A place no one would ever go."

"The perfect hiding place." Rex finished.

"And I assume you are here to hide as well."

"Indeed, we are." Yoda confirmed.

"Well, you cannot. Your presence could draw the attention of Dooku. And that is something I cannot afford so you must leave." Kalani insisted. "Unless you wish to fight to the death over this hiding place."

"Give our friends back and we'll go." Wolffe said.

"Your friends will stay here to ensure you do not return." Kalani countered. "We will provide for them the best we can, but they will not leave."

Wolffe shook his head. "Even if I believed you would give it an honest effort, I don't believe you actually know how to do that."

"Would you rather I kill them now?"

"Do that and we'll blast you off the side of the planet!"

"Enough!" Yoda shouted. "If we fight each other, gain nothing either side will. Another option there is. Work together, we can."

"Whoa, whoa, you cannot be serious!" Wolffe protested.

"Hiding from the same people, we are. A common goal we have."

"Didn't you say something similar about Dooku? And then he kidnapped Shadow and that other kid!" Wolffe argued.

"What are you talking about?" For a droid with an unmovable face, Kalani looked very confused.

"That's a long story. But the short version is, Dooku was never the one in charge of the Separatists. They got rid of him too." Rex explained.

"The cause you once fought for, gone it is. A pawn you were, just like we were. Fight this new enemy alone, neither of us can."

"And with our enemies defeated, then what?" Kalani asked.

"Negotiate terms for our new government, we will."

"I don't believe this!" Wolffe cried. "You seriously think we can trust them? They were created specifically to kill!"

"Yes." Yoda admitted. "As were you. Droids they are, but desire peace they do. Fled war and conflict, as you did."

"They are our enemies!"

"Only if we choose to fight them." Yoda pointed out. "Done terrible things, all of us have to each other. Doing the Sith's work for them. If we cannot compromise, if we fight, the only one who wins, our enemies it will be."

The droid thought for a long time, processing this information.

"I agree. I will accept this partnership."

To prove his words, Kalani removed Rex's restraints and ordered that the others be released. Yoda then felt something that he hadn't felt in years.

He felt like a peacekeeper.


	40. Assault on the Death Star

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Sidious came into Eggman's office. "My apprentice and I are going to check on how things are in the Separatist capital. Until I return you are in charge of this battle station. But you are not permitted to fire its super laser without my approval."

Eggman rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."

He was quickly lifted up and slammed into the wall with the Force.

"When I tell you to do something, you will answer with 'Yes Master'. Understand?"

"Yes Master."

Sidious dropped him and left. Eggman got up and dusted himself off. He hated being forced to work for someone else. He alone deserved to be in charge. After all wasn't he proving Sidious with everything he needed to succeed? But for now, the smart move was to do what he said.

* * *

Shadow was giving Petro the silent treatment. He checked the next few planets without saying a single word.

"Alright, next planet is… Jakku. A boring place, but at least it's not super dangerous."

Shadow just grunted and launched into hyperspace. They traveled in awkward silence until they arrived at the desert planet.

"Alright, let's scan the place… uh Shadow?"

Shadow glanced at him and rose a brow.

"I uh, found something."

Shadow continued to look at him expectantly.

"It's the clones." Petro said incredulously.

Shadow perked up and said his first words in hours. "The clones? How? What are they doing out here?"

"I don't know, but that's definitely the Republic fleet."

"Let's fly over and ask them then."

They hailed one of the cruisers.

Wolffe answered. "Trandoshian vessel, identify yourself."

"This is Shadow the Hedgehog, preparing to board."

"Shadow!? Last we heard from you, you were kidnapped by Count Dooku."

"Yeah, we've got a lot of catching up to do."

"You have no idea."

Sometime later, they were on the bridge, telling their stories. Shadow had once again refused medical attention even though he was clearly in pain. The other younglings joined them and were very impressed with Petro's story of killing Dooku.

"…and then I cut his legs off. Oh, and I also stole his wallet." He lifted the heavy pouch of credits.

When he heard that Kamino had been destroyed, Shadow punched the wall and taught everybody some new swear words.

"The uh, good news is we have a tracking device placed on the ship, so we always know where it is." Wolffe said after Shadow finished his tirade.

Their story of encountering Anakin on Dathomir caused troubled looks among the listening younglings and clones.

"About that…" Wolffe began and explained how the Android came Kamino and what it did there. "We haven't heard from Kenobi or Skywalker since then."

"So it's coercion then, not betrayal." Shadow muttered.

After all the stories were told Shadow said, "Okay, the first order of business is to take down that battle station."

"I don't think we're ready to take on something like that yet." Wolffe objected.

"I want a meeting with all the leaders." Shadow declared. "I want to see what we have to work with."

In the meeting room on the Republic cruiser, Kalani told Shadow his situation.

"I possess 2.6 million infantry units. Unfortunately, I do not possess enough power to keep them all activated for long. The solar panels we took from the locals are only enough to keep the most essential equipment active."

"What about starfighters?" Shadow asked.

"Unfortunately, I only have twelve starfighters left. Most were sent to crash into your Republic vessels at Kamino."

"What about those boarding ships I saw back at Cloud City?"

"Only one left."

"I'm not sure how you think we can accomplish anything with this little air support." Rex said. "Their fleet easily has us outgunned."

"We don't have to outgun their entire fleet, just the battle station."

"First off, there's no way we're gonna be able to outgun that battle station. Second, how are we supposed to take it out without any other ships getting involved?"

Shadow sat back and thought. "I have an idea. We can send them a message, right?"

"Yeah, but then they'll know where we are." Rex pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. But these holographic messages, is there a way to alter how they look and sound?"

"Of course, but I don't see how that matters."

"It matters because I now have a plan."

* * *

Eggman sat at his desk, frustrated. He had a superweapon at his disposal, but he wasn't allowed to use it! But then one of his robots entered.

"What do you want?"

"We received a distress message."

"And why do you think I care about this?"

"The message appears to be from Sonic the Hedgehog, sir."

Eggman nearly fell out of his chair. "SONIC!?"

"Yes. Take a look for yourself." The robot played the message.

"Hello? Hello? Is this thing working? Is anyone out there?" There he was, the blue hedgehog who was always at the forefront of those who would oppose Eggman. "I'm lost in this endless desert! I don't even know how I got out here! If you get this message, please send help! And also, some water would be nice!"

"Shall I contact Lord Sidious?"

"Not yet." Eggman ordered. "Tell me, where did this message come from?"

"We've traced its origins back to the planet Jakku."

"What can you tell me about this planet?"

"It's close to the border of the unknown region and it is virtually uninhabited except for criminals who commonly use it as a hiding place."

"So, it's a planet no one really cares about, and no one would really notice if this planet up and disappeared?" A big grin appeared on Eggman's face. Then we're going on a little trip."

"But Lord Sidious ordered us to remain stationary until further notice."

"That's why we're not going to tell him about this."

"That is against my programing."

"No, it's not. Tell me, what is your number one priority?"

"Kill Sonic the Hedgehog."

"That's right. Now get this station moving!"

* * *

"I find this strategy of yours, questionable." Kalani stated.

Shadow stared out at the stars through the window. "Trust me, I know Eggman."

"I was referring to the fact that you are damaged."

Shadow shrugged. "I've had worse."

"You seem rather trusting of us, only minutes after learning that we defected."

"I've seen this type of thing before. Machines getting fed up with their masters and wanting to overthrow them." Shadow explained.

"I see. But this does not guarantee that we will remain allies."

"I'm sure you're smart enough to realize that's not true." Shadow countered.

"The droid army is still against the Republic."

"What Republic? The Republic is gone. The clones are only fighting so they can finally live their own lives and I'm fighting to get the Chaos Emeralds back so I can go home. None of that has anything to do with the Republic."

"And what of the Jedi?" Kalani asked.

"At this point, I think they just want to survive."

"Your points are valid, but what of the fate of the galaxy?"

"That's up to the leaders of the galaxy to sort out."

"You do not care who ultimately gains control over the galaxy?"

"As long as they aren't a massive asshole who enslaves people, no I don't." Shadow confirmed.

"You possess a very unique viewpoint. You are taking great action to see the current government fall, but you do not care what type of government replaces it."

"I'm not trying to destroy the government. Just Sidious and Eggman." Shadow corrected.

"Shadow, the Death Star is coming!"

"Alright Kalani, I'm heading over to you. Have all your starfighters ready to launch."

* * *

"Sir, we've reached the system, but the Republic fleet appears to be here."

"So, this a trap huh?" Eggman was surprised but not intimidated. "I should've known it couldn't be that easy. But if they think they can take down my station, they got another thing coming! Deploy the fighters and fire all turbolasers!"

"Sir, diverting power to secondary weapons will lower the rate at which the main cannon charges."

"I know that! Now fire!"

* * *

"Well, we definitely have their attention!" Rex yelled over the comm. "But we're taking a major beating now! If you're gonna make your move, now's the time!"

"Alright, launching now!"

* * *

"Uh, sir we've detected an old Separatist craft and Separatist vulture droids approaching!"

"What? That's impossible!" Eggman shouted.

"All scanners indicate that's what they are."

They then heard a loud bang.

"A boarding ship has penetrated our hull."

"Check the surveillance cameras! I want a visual!" Eggman demanded.

He saw Shadow exit the boarding ship and look up at the camera.

"I'm coming for those Emeralds Eggman!"

Eggman knew that if he lost the Emeralds, this station would be a big sitting duck. "I want every robot on this station to guard the Emeralds! Move! Move!"

"Every robot?"

"Every robot!"

Eggman turned back to the cameras and watched Shadow tear his way through his forces. He noticed that Shadow was moving more slowly than usual. He was favoring one leg and kept one hand close to his chest. A savage hope grew in Eggman. The hope that maybe, just maybe, that stubborn, prideful hedgehog would finally push himself too far...

Shadow emerged into the core of the Death Star where the Emeralds were held. The massive room was absolutely packed with robots. Shadow gripped one of his Emeralds and used Chaos Blast. The first wave of robots was sent flying back. The others began shooting at him.

Shadow used Chaos Control to freeze time and used the opportunity to destroy dozens of helpless robots. Time resumed with Shadow behind the robots and near the power core.

"Turn around! Turn around!" Eggman screamed.

Shadow began shooting Chaos Spears into the robots' backs. The remaining robots managed to turn around and start shooting at him again. Shadow curled up and spindashed the robots, smashing through them. More robots entered the room and surrounded Shadow.

Shadow responded by removing his inhibitor rings. Eggman watched in dismay as a wave of red energy expanded out from Shadow, growing until it was all the camera could see. When the image cleared, Shadow stood alone among heaps of scrap metal. He walked towards the core, but then wobbled and collapsed.

 _Yes! Now that he's expelled all that energy he's weak! This is my chance!_

Eggman grabbed his blaster and headed to the door of his office. He opened the door and found five battle droids on the other side.

"Freeze! Surrender!"

"What? How? Where did you come from?"

"Wow, Shadow was right. He really didn't notice us getting out of that boarding ship!"

The droids shut down the defense systems and the two armies boarded the Death Star. The droids brought Eggman to Kalani.

"You! This is where you disappeared to!" Eggman yelled. "You dirty traitors! You're supposed to obey me!"

"I serve the Separatist Alliance, not you. Now, Shadow has informed us that you can help out with our little energy crisis."


	41. A Weapon of Peace

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Shadow woke up in the med bay with his wounds treated. Petro was in a chair next to the bed.

"So, I'm guessing the plan worked?" Shadow asked.

"Well our Republic ships took a serious beating, but yeah, it worked. How did you know that he wouldn't notice the droids?"

"Because Eggman isn't used to threats that aren't hedgehogs. He's not quite as smart as he claims to be. So how many Emeralds did he have plugged into this thing?"

"Four. The three that were taken from us on Dathomir, plus one more." Petro felt a flash of guilt come from Shadow. "There's no way you could have known. Plus, we were both beat up and you had that war going on in your head."

"I should have known! I shouldn't have left them behind!" Shadow growled.

"You can't blame yourself! You're not the one who used them to blow up Kamino!"

"I should have stopped them!"

"Shadow, it's okay!"

"No, it's not okay! I could have been there when it happened! I could have prevented all of it! I COULD HAVE SAVED HER!"

Petro could sense another whirlwind of emotions in Shadow, stronger than before. "Are… we still talking about Kamino?"

"Nevermind." Shadow jumped out of bed and quickly began walking away.

Petro closed the med bay door with the Force. "Enough with the whole 'Everything is fine!' game! I can feel your emotions tearing you apart!"

"Stay out of my mind!" Shadow screamed with genuine fear.

Petro held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm trying to help you. Why won't you let me? Maters Yoda said that if you're obsessed with something that went wrong in the past the best thing you can do is come to terms with it."

"I have come to terms with it."

"Then why are your emotions out of control?"

Shadow could take no more. "I WATCHED THEM KILL HER! SHE WAS MY ONLY FRIEND AND THEY MURDERED HER! THEY MURDERED HER, AND I COULD HAVE STOPPED IT! BUT INSTEAD I DID NOTHING! AND THEN I WASTED HER SACRIFICE BY DOING MORE NOTHING! I HAVE THE ULTIMATE POWER AND DID NOTHING!" Shadow fell to his knees, tears running unnoticed down his face. "I was supposed to save her… But I lost everything. If I lay around and do nothing, it'll be the same thing all over again! My new friends, my home, lost forever!"

"You can't do everything, Shadow." Petro said softly. "Just because you're the ultimate lifeform doesn't mean you can do everything."

"But I could have!" Shadow insisted. "She was right there!"

"If there was anything you could have done, you would have done it."

"I could have killed him."

"You're still blaming yourself for action taken by other people." Petro pointed out. "If they had chosen not to attack, nobody needed to die. You didn't kill them because you didn't believe it was the right decision. And it wasn't. Like you told me, killing people like that will just confirm what they believe, and they'll continue to mistreat you. You were right the first time. Sure, things didn't go the way you wanted them to, but you did nothing wrong."

Petro sensed a change in Shadow's emotions that told him he was getting through to the hedgehog.

"And we're going to get you home. We can win, we just have to fight smart."

Shadow stood up and wiped his face.

"Thank you."

* * *

Eggman and a troop of droids were in one of the workshops Eggman had provided for himself aboard the Death Star. Kalani was "supervising" him. Another droid came in, carrying a storage crate containing thousands of lightsabers. The same lightsabers that they had collected from the entire Jedi Order upon their surrender.

"These lightsabers contain kyber crystals. I want you to turn them into batteries for us."

"You know, I can do more than supply you with a suitable power source. I can give you upgrades. I can make you stronger, faster, smarter. I can make you better shots!"

"You know, some of that sounds pretty good!" One of the droids chirped.

"Shadow told us about you." Kalani said. "You have a tendency to lie and manipulate to get what you desire." He looked sternly at Eggman. "And you will only do what we ask you to do."

"I would still like to be a better shot though."

Kalani shot a look at it. "Your request is denied."

"Roger roger." The droid said sadly.

Eggman changed tact. "You might have me, but my armies are far superior to yours. I strongly suggest you recalculate which side has the better chance of winning."

"I have calculated the odds. And based on the information I have including the vast power possessed by Master Yoda, the skill and dedication of the clone troopers, and Shadow defeating your battle station's entire defense force by himself, I believe this is the winning side. And you should recognize that if you do not do as we say, you will be executed immediately."

Realizing the droid had a good point, Eggman got to work. As he worked, He plotted his vengeance.

 _Just you wait you stupid bucket of bolts. Nobody outsmarts Doctor Eggman!_

* * *

In the Death Star's main command center, Shadow met up with the clone commanders.

"Have you figured out how this thing works?"

"Yeah, we have a pretty good idea." Cody replied. "So now that we have the station, what do we do next?"

"Well, we have a giant super laser that can blow up planets, I say we use it." Shadow smirked. "And I know just where to start."

* * *

Lok Durd watched the recording Eggman had left him, which contained all the instructions the scientist had given him while he was here in person. Lok had shoved it into his desk and forgotten about it until Shadow escaped.

"…an important thing to keep in mind, if he has the opportunity to kill you, nine times out of ten, he will kill you."

His study session was interrupted when a droid entered.

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Sir, the Death Star is here, and you have an incoming transmission."

Did Eggman hear about his failure? At this rate, they'll demote him all the way to sanitation engineer!

Fearing the worst, he answered the call. However, he was shocked to see not a hologram of Eggman, but of Shadow!

"I'm assuming you remember me?"

"You!" Lok raged. "You might have been able to escape me last time, but this time I have support from the Death Star! You were foolish to come back."

Shadow couldn't help but laugh at this. "You should consider yourself accomplished. Very few people can make me laugh."

"If you find that funny then you clearly don't understand the power the Death Star wields."

Shadow laughed even harder. "You're really on a roll here. Keep going."

"What? What's so funny?" Lok demanded.

"The Death Star you see above you is under my command." Ginning at Lok's slack jaw, Shadow continued. "Now you have two choices. Either completely shut down the factory and leave the planet or get blown up."

Lok Durd was stunned for a moment. "That… that's impossible!"

"Trust me, it's very, very possible."

"No, you're trying to trick me again aren't you? You're probably sending this message from inside the trash compactor."

"What do you think the Death Star is doing here then?" Shadow asked.

"It's Eggman coming to check up on me."

"Then why hasn't he called you yet? You can talk to him if that's what you really want, he's here."

Lok grasped desperately for some other explanation, anything other than Shadow telling the truth.

"Come on, make the smart decision, and shut this place down." Shadow urged.

"I… I… will comply with your demands."

A couple hours later, the factory was shut down and Lok Durd had fled the planet. The clones and droids then easily raided the dead factory for fuel and other supplies.

"Next stop, Geonosis."

* * *

Sidious was in his office, waiting for the Shadow Android to report in. It was late. Surely laying waste to Kashyyyk couldn't have taken this long. He then began to think about the possibility of it being destroyed. Wookies were ferocious creatures after all. Would this be a threat to his plans? Unlikely. No one really knew about Shadow or his species or how many of them there were. But a replacement was surely necessary. He then sent a transmission to the Death Star, but no one answered.

"What is that doctor up to?"

He was about to try again when he received a transmission from the Dooku Android.

"What do you have to report?"

"The droid factory on Sullest has been shut down."

"Shut down? Why? Who approved of this?" Sidious demanded angerly.

"Lok Durd has reported that Shadow the Hedgehog is in control of the Death Star."

Sidious exploded. "HE'S WHAT!? How did this happen?"

"He doesn't know."

"Schedule his execution immediately."

Sidious then began thinking. If Shadow had control of the Death Star, there was no telling what damage he could do. He need to put a stop to this as soon as possible. He summoned his apprentice. The man once known as Anakin came in and knelt before Sidious.

"Lord Vader, I have a critical mission for you. Shadow the Hedgehog is in control of the Death Star. Bring him and the Emeralds to me."

"It will be done, my Lord."

Vader turned to leave.

"And one more thing." Sidious glared harshly. "The fate of my plans lies in your success. If you fail, then your wife will suffer the most horrendous death that I can imagine."

"Understood, Master."


	42. Surrender

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

"…So I'm in control of this battle station and I suggest you surrender now."

The Geonosian glared at Shadow. He made several harsh clicking noises that sounded nothing like a surrender.

"Alright. Nuke him."

The two Chaos Emeralds in the core glowed as their power was invoked.

"Charging up and… fire!"

The super laser fired, a giant bar of light falling from the sky. It impacted the planet, the shockwaves spreading out in a massive tidal wave of land. The Geonosian droid factory was wiped out in seconds.

"The next target we should hit is Ringo Vinda." Cody suggested.

Shadow nodded. "Let's go."

The course was set, and the hulking Death Star was pushed to lightspeed.

"Has anyone fixed that dumb protocol droid yet?" Wolffe asked rudely.

"Almost, we're trying to get back his old memory." A clone mechanic named Click answered. "He might be able to tell us a few things."

Shadow wandered into the Death Star's kitchens, which were staffed with Eggman's chef-bots. They were shut off for now, since they were programed to only respond to Eggman. There was one lone clone trying to teach himself to cook. He had sliced jogan fruit and some unknown meat cut into small chunks and put them in a pot together, which was simmering on the stove.

"You're just throwing random stuff into a pot and seeing how it turns out aren't you?"

The clone jumped and whipped around.

"Oh, Shadow! I was just… um, experimenting."

"Yeah, I remember doing that when I first tried cooking. I ended up setting half the kitchen on fire. Here's a tip: don't let it cook too long. You can always add more time, but when it's burnt, it's burnt. And be sure to read the labels carefully. Also, fruit and meat don't usually work well together unless you have weird tastes."

"Thank you. I'll keep those things in mind."

"When you and the other clones get your own civilization established, you're going to need to know how to cook."

"True, that is."

Shadow glared at Yoda. "What do you want?"

"Wish to speak with you, I do."

"Fine." As Shadow started walking out of the room, he pointed back at the clone. "Keep practicing."

They stepped into the hall and Shadow waited for Yoda to speak.

"Close to Petro, you have become."

"That kid has potential if you push him in the right direction. Especially if you don't label him a Sith Lord and lock him away."

"Nearly turned to the Dark Side by Dooku, he was." Yoda pointed out.

"Except he wasn't. He killed Dooku instead. And you know why? Because I didn't immediately turn against him the second he started shooting lightning out of his hands. If you were there instead of me, he probably would have turned to the Dark Side."

"Perhaps. But uncertain, his future is."

"Since when is anyone's future ever certain?" Shadow burst out. "My future was supposed to be curing diseases! And guess what? That didn't happen. Did you think ten years or even one year ago that you would end up here?"

"Misunderstand me, you do. Look to you for guidance, Petro does. Planning on leaving, you are. Who will guide him then?" Yoda inquired.

Shadow thought about this for a moment. "He'll probably look to you. He's taught me a few things he got from you. He still looks to you for wisdom even though you thought about killing him. If you trust him, he'll put his trust in you."

"And if continue to study the Dark Side, he does?"

"As long as he doesn't hurt anyone, then let him."

"Corrupted by power, he could still be."

"He could." Shadow acknowledged. "But he hasn't yet has he?"

"No. No, he has not."

"Then stop thinking that's the only possibility. You need to believe that he wants to do the right thing."

The two stood silently for a moment.

Yoda took a deep breath and spoke. "When you first turned the clone army against the Republic, believed you were a great threat I did. But now I see, your desire is not solely to destroy the things you hate, but to protect the innocent from the things you hate. Disagree with your methods, I do. But good intentions, you have. Lucky are we, that brought to this galaxy, you were. Needed someone like you, we did."

Shadow studied Yoda with an unreadable expression. "Well, that's what I do."

"Thanks to you, wiser, the next generation of Jedi will be."

A sudden explosion startled them. They ran back into the kitchen to find meat and fruit juices splattered everywhere.

"What did you do?" Shadow asked the messy clone.

"I added some nysillim seeds, sir." The clone looked as though he expected to be punished.

"Nysillim seeds, rather volatile when under extreme temperatures, they are." Yoda appeared rather amused.

"Perhaps you could try a simple recipe instead of throwing random things together?" Shadow suggested.

The clone nodded. "Yeah, I could try that."

"Clean up and try again, we shall. Teach you how to make roasted nuna, I will."

* * *

Darth Vader waited at Ringo Vinda. He knew that Shadow was targeting factories, so he picked one to stakeout. And sure enough, his patience was rewarded. The Death Star finally appeared with such force, Ringo Vinda itself almost seemed to tremble at its arrival.

Vader quickly jumped into his new starfighter, designed by Eggman to resemble a dragon, and took off.

* * *

Shadow, Yoda, and the newly christened Chef tasted the roasted nuna.

"Not bad for a second attempt." Shadow complimented. "7 out of 10."

Shadow's new comm went off. "We've made it to Ringo Vinda."

"I'll be right there." Shadow teleported to the command center. "Contact whoever's in charge of this place."

A cyborg spider answered the transmission. "Ah, Shadow the Hedgehog." He clicked his mandibles. "I expected you to come here sooner or later."

"So, the word's been spreading huh? Well if that's the case then you should know you're already screwed."

The mandibles clicked. "And what exactly are your terms?"

"Well you should know if you've heard what I've been up to. I want you to shut down all your foundries and we'll be taking any valuable resources we find. Or we can just blow you up."

"Perhaps we can make an arrangement that satisfies both of us?"

"No. You are officially in a lose-lose situation. You can lose your factory or your life and the factory."

"You should not underestimate my defenses."

"Can your defenses survive a blast powerful enough to blow up an entire planet? We have six Chaos Emeralds up here, and it only took four to blow up Kamino. You have until the weapon finishes charging up to surrender."

"Shadow!" A clone shouted. "We have an intruder in hanger 327!"

The clicking mandibles sounded like laughter. "Perhaps you would like to renegotiate those terms before HE gets to you."

"Do you think I'm going to be afraid of some assassin?"

"We have a confirmed sighting! It's… it's… it's General Skywalker!"

Shadow leapt to his feet. "Everyone keep your distance! Do not engage!" He looked back at the spider. "And when the cannon's charged, blow that guy up. Leave Anakin to me."

* * *

Vader was like a death machine, cutting down anyone or anything he encountered as he roamed the halls. His target was the reactor core where the Chaos Emeralds were. If he took the Chaos Emeralds, then Shadow would surely come straight to him.

But as he rounded another corner, he was greeted by a familiar face.

"Do this not, young Skywalker."

"Anakin Skywalker is dead." There was no emotion at all in his voice. "Stand aside. I only want the Emeralds and Shadow."

"What you want hmm? Or what Sidious wants?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Let you take him, I will not."

"Then you've made your choice." Vader extended his lightsaber.

"And made yours, you have."

Vader slashed with his lightsaber and Yoda blocked. Yoda Force Pushed Vader back and leapt forward with a slash of his own. Vader blocked and counterattacked. The small master skipped to the side, then hopped backward to avoid another slash.

The Dark Sider shot Force Lightning from his hand, but Yoda absorbed it and fired it back. Vader was shocked and sent flying into the wall.

Shadow came upon the scene. "I'll take it from here."

"Fight him alone, you should not."

"Who said I was here to fight him?"

Yoda deactivated his lightsaber and stepped back.

"What do you want, Anakin?"

"You. You and those Chaos Emeralds."

"Padme. She's being held hostage, isn't she." It was not a question.

"That's not important!" Vader snapped.

"It's very important. It's why you're here, why you're doing this."

"Enough!"

Vader swung at Shadow, but he dodged by teleporting a few feet away.

"There's no need for any of that. I surrender."

Both Force users blinked at him. They waited for it to turn out to be a joke, or an attempt at distracting Vader, but Shadow remained completely serious.

"What are you doing?" Vader finally said.

"I'm surrendering."

"Why would you surrender?"

A sympathetic look came over Shadow's features. "I know what a sadistic psychopath Sidious is. I know what happens to her if you come back empty handed. So I am surrendering myself and the Chaos Emeralds to you."

Vader still couldn't quite believe it. "You're giving yourself up for Padme?"

"For her, and you. You're just as much a prisoner and victim. Probably even more so."

"I also require the doctor."

"Sure. Don't know why anyone would want him though."

"Shadow, think carefully about this, you should." Yoda warned.

"I have thought about this. An innocent person will die or maybe even worse if I don't do this. Now come on, let's go get Eggman."

Rex was watching Eggman in the detention center.

"Rex, release him."

"What?" Rex didn't take his eyes off of Eggman.

"I surrendering to Anakin and one of his demands is to let Eggman go."

"WHAT?" Rex whipped around and saw his former general standing next to Shadow. "General Skywalker!?" There were a thousand things Rex wanted to say to him, but none of them seemed like the right thing to say.

Vader did not meet Rex's eyes, choosing to stare at Eggman instead.

"It's complicated." Shadow said, not feeling like explaining it again. "The point is that I'm surrendering myself, Eggman, and the Chaos Emeralds to him.

"But that'll leave us completely without power!"

"You still have all the other ships, and Sidious didn't specify what Anakin was to do with the droids or the clones, so he's agreed to let you go."

Rex couldn't understand it. It seemed completely contrary to the hedgehog he had come to know. "You're just giving yourself up?"

"Yes, yes I am."

"I don't believe it." Eggman declared. "This hedgehog does not know the meaning of the word 'surrender'."

"Believe whatever you want to, Doctor. Now let's go get the Chaos Emeralds. I suggest you get off this station before the life support gets turned off."

They went to the main reactor and removed the six Emeralds, while Eggman kept yammering on about all his theories of what Shadow was up to.

"I know! You're letting us have the station back because you've sabotaged the super weapon somehow!"

"Shut up with the conspiracy theories Eggman."

They got back to Anakin's ship and left the Death Star to grow dark and cold.


	43. A Minor Setback

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The clones and droids looked sadly back at the Death Star as it was reclaimed by Admiral Trench's forces while they fled into space. Again. Just when they were finally making progress, it was all taken away from them again. There was an air of discouragement and frustration as the leaders made the decision to return to Jakku.

"Now what do we do?" Jessie asked.

Rex tried to think of some sort of answer or at least a witty joke to lighten the mood. But he had nothing. They had lost the Death Star, all their Republic ships were still severely damaged, and Shadow had been taken prisoner. By his own choice no less. And Anakin… Rex just didn't understand. What had happened to the brave and kind general he knew? He did understand one thing though. It was all Sidious's fault.

Kalani was busy analyzing their available resources in his head. They had the kyber crystal batteries made by Eggman (though there weren't enough for every droid), and the fuel they took from the factory on Sullest would be very helpful in keeping their fleet up and running, but statistically, they still didn't have nearly enough resources for all out warfare against Sidious's forces. Especially with the Death Star once again under his control.

After a long silence, Dauntless said, "Shadow has a plan, right? He wouldn't just give up, would he?"

"If he's got a plan he certainly didn't tell me anything about it." Rex replied.

"We're finished, aren't we?" Asked Road Kill despondently. "We've lost. We're outmanned, outgunned, outeverythinged! As soon as they find out what planet we're hiding on, they're going to blow us up."

"We're not done yet!" Rex snapped. "We're still alive! We still have loaded blasters! Now I don't know what Shadow's up to, but I don't think he wants us lay down and give up. Not after the trouble he went through to give us our freedom. Now come on! Let's put our heads together and think of a plan!"

* * *

"… You've got some spying or tracking device on you to spy on us!" Eggman declared. "You want me to brag about my plans to you, don't you?"

"That is honestly the last thing I want you to do." Shadow responded with a look of revulsion.

"You're not the real Shadow! You're my Android that's been reprogramed!"

"Can you shut him up already?"

Vader waved his hand in Eggman's face. He slumped in his seat and began snoring.

"That's not much better."

Vader ignored that and went back to quietly studying Shadow.

"You're not being as loud and obnoxious about it, but I know you're doing the same thing he's doing." Shadow stated. "Trying to find some hidden strategy or advantage to what I'm doing. Well you know what the plan is? To save you."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"Well first, I'm going to have to save Padme and Obi-wan. And then we kill Sidious."

"Obi-wan's dead!" Vader snapped angerly. "And if we try to rescue Padme, then she'll die too!" Some fear edged its way into Vader's voice.

"You know Sidious is going to kill her anyway, right? I've seen how sadistic he is. He tortured me for his own amusement. Regardless of if you do what he says or not, he will kill her. He'll probably do it right in front of you."

"I will handle it!" Vader insisted. "Once I become powerful enough, then I'll defeat him, and then we'll be safe."

"Will you still be you by that point?" Shadow asked.

"I'm whatever I need to be!"

"If that point ever comes and I'm still alive, be sure to let me know if it was worth it. But if you want to know to know how to save her without completely losing your mind and destroying who you are, let me know."

"Why are you saving me at all? I thought you only cared about the clones."

Shadow shrugged and said, "I changed my mind."

"That's it? You just 'changed your mind'? Why?"

"I see a lot of myself in you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not like the other Jedi. You care so much more. And now you're losing everything. I know what it's like to lose everything. I want to spare you from that."

"What could you possibly do?" Vader asked despairingly.

"If you can get me all seven Emeralds, I'll show you."

"The Emeralds. The things you plan on using to go home."

Shadow nodded.

"How do I know you won't just leave?"

"Because I have unfinished business here. Padme still needs to hold up her end of our deal, I did not free those clones just to leave them to die, and I have a major score to settle with Sidious."

Vader shook his head. "You can't possibly hope to stop him. He's too powerful."

"That's why I need you to help me."

Vader said nothing.

They soon arrived at the flagship Remorseless. Vader shook Eggman awake and lead his charges though the ship. He could not ignore Shadow's mounting terror as they got closer to the throne room. The hedgehog even appeared to be shaking slightly. They entered the throne room and Shadow's fear grew even more when he saw Sidious holding the red Emerald.

"Welcome, Shadow." Sidious grinned. "I see you've noticed that I've found the final Emerald. It was lodged in the wall of my old office back on Coruscant."

"That's all seven!" Eggman cried in excitement. "Now the Death Star can achieve its full power!"

Sidious's expression changed to one of deep displeasure. "Not so fast, Doctor. You still have to answer for your failings."

"It was a minor setback!"

"You lost the entire battle station! Which ended up costing me two major factories!"

"Well we got the station back!"

Sidious growled dangerously. "You did nothing to achieve that. From this point on, the Death Star will be commanded by Admiral Trench."

"That freaky spider guy? He doesn't even fully understand how it works!"

Anything else Eggman had to say was cut off as Sidious started Force Choking him. "You should consider yourself lucky I'm letting you live at all." He let go of Eggman and turned his attention back to Shadow. "And as for you, I considered killing you, but you just hold too many possibilities. Your natural ability to use the Emeralds, the power you have at your disposal, your home galaxy that you wish to return to. Despite the trouble you've caused me, you hold the power to make my empire greater than it would have been otherwise."

"Excuse me!" Eggman butted in. "As the guy who tried that same thing once before, just kill him now! It's not worth it."

Sidious glared at him. "I do not recall asking for your opinion, Doctor."

"Why do you even need him when you've got me? I can construct anything you require!"

"If I recall correctly, you said that these hedgehogs have a habit surpassing everything create?"

"Only minor setbacks!"

"Silence!" Sidious hissed. "If you can live up to these expectations you set for yourself, then I will execute him. But if you disappoint me again, then I will arrange your execution. Begone!"

Eggman crept away in uncharacteristic silence.

"Now, while we wait for the Doctor to prove his worth…"

Sidious reached out his hand and Shadow felt that same icy, malevolent drill boring into his brain. Vader watched as Shadow fell to the ground and began screaming. He wondered how Shadow planned to save him when Sidious could just do this whenever he wanted. Why did Shadow even think this was a good idea?

Sidious finished and left Shadow a trembling ball of quills on the floor. "Take him to his new quarters."

Vader grabbed a handful of quills with his metal hand and dragged Shadow away.

* * *

"I'm sick of running and hiding! Let's just attack the Separatist capital already!" Wolffe shouted.

"With our limited numbers and firepower, I estimate that plan will fail in fifteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds." Kalani noted.

"Oh, yeah? And what do you suggest?" Wolffe countered.

"We lie low while we gather intelligence and resources."

"We don't have time for that! Shadow needs our help now!"

"Maybe there's a way we could smuggle ourselves into the Separatist capital? And then surprise attack them!" Rex suggested.

"There are way too many of us for that." Cody pointed out.

"Thinking about this the wrong way, we might be. Have to fight them, we do not." Everyone looked at Yoda in surprise. "Manipulated and lied to, the Separatists have been. Just wanted a better galaxy, they did. Reveal Sidious's lies to them, we can."

"We're just supposed to walk up to them, tell them everything, and just hope they believe us?" Cody asked incredulously. "It's not like we have proof or anything."

"Actually, I do posses memory records of Dooku ordering the assassination of the Separatist Council." Kalani recalled.

"Okay so we do have evidence. How are we supposed to show it to them before they blast us?"

Kalani answered, "I have a suggestion…"

* * *

Shadow sat in his prison cell, waiting for Sidious to decide to torture him some more. He felt tense and anxious, the throbbing in his skull serving as a reminder of what Sidious could do to him. He flinched as the door opened, but it was Vader, not his master.

"Was this really your plan?"

"The plan is for you to help me. I rescue Padme while you fight Sidious."

"I'm not strong enough to fight Sidious!"

"He must have a weakness." Shadow said firmly. "On Dathomir, he was forced to withdraw from my mind because he was distracted by something else."

"It was probably Padme trying to escape."

"If it distracted him once, it'll distract him again."

Shadow explained the rest of his plan to him.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"It's the best chance we've got. This opportunity will only come once."

Anakin handed him the Darksaber and left the cell.


	44. Built for war

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The leaders of the droid and clone armies, Master Yoda, and the younglings met to discuss the plan.

Rex opened the meeting. "Okay, so how are we supposed to get onto the planet in the first place?"

"My databanks have provided one suggestion." Kalani said. "A strategy used by Grievous during the battle of Kamino."

"Which one?" Wolffe asked bitterly.

"The first one. He purposely let his fleet get destroyed so that the wreckage would fall to the surface below, allowing the surviving droids to mount a surprise ground-based attack."

"Interesting, but they were crashing into water." Cody pointed out.

"Most of the droids could survive if properly secured."

"Yeah, they could but what about us?"

"Your more fragile bodies have a 15.2% chance of surviving."

"I don't like those odds."

"What if we used the escape pods?" Rex asked.

"For that to work, you would have to launch just before the ships explodes." Kalani replied.

"Would you by any chance, be able to calculate that exact time?"

"Considering the heavy damage the ships have already taken and the powerful defenses the Separatists employ, I suspect the ships will last approximately two minutes before being destroyed. But that is merely an educated guess."

"Well I like that a lot better than the odds of surviving the crash." Cody remarked. "Okay, so we all make it down there alive. Then what?"

"I estimate that we will crash around twenty clicks away from the parliament's emergency bunker. We will not make it before we are discovered."

"So we're gonna have to fight our way there." Rex muttered. "And we'll have to protect you the entire way there."

"That is correct."

Petro spoke up. "Maybe there's a way to make it a little easier."

"Really? And how's that?" Rex asked.

"What if some of us went off to attack a different target and trick them into thinking we're after something else? Like um… a major power station?"

"There is a large power station about fifteen clicks away from the estimated crash site." Kalani reported.

"We can go attack it!" Petro gestured to himself and the other younglings.

"The odds of children being successful are rather small."

"Underestimate them, you should not. Young they may be, but proven themselves, they have."

"Well then, looks like we have our plan." Rex declared. "Set course for Raxus."

* * *

Shadow knew that cutting a hole in the door would get noticed immediately so he instead cut into the ventilation system. He crawled through the ducts, looking for Padme. He looked through the slits in the vents into the other cells. He eventually found the one that had Padme in it.

Shadow cut another hole.

Padme looked up as a piece of the ceiling was removed and was relieved to see Shadow on the other side.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm saving the damn day. Now let's go."

"What about Anakin?"

"He's taking care of part two of the plan."

* * *

Captain Mar Tuuk sat in his chair, keeping watch for any invaders. He doubted it would do much good though, seeing as how it didn't prevent that clone-loving creature from getting onto Raxus last time. Mar Tuuk still couldn't figure out how he had done it.

"Sir, we're detecting enemy ships coming out of hyperspace!"

"Launch all fighters!"

This was it. The day Mat Tuuk knew had been coming. He studied the enemy ships curiously, wondering why they didn't send out any fighters of their own. How peculiar. What type of strategy were they going for? They weren't even shooting back, they were just coming on at full speed…

Wait a minute!

He flashbacked to incident with the blockade over Ryloth.

"Oh no, you're not doing this to me again! All canons, FIRE!"

The Republic ships began to fall apart under the heavy laser fire. Mar Tuuk was too busy being relieved at not being rammed to notice how quickly the ships were crumbling. One after another, the ships exploded into pieces and fell to the planet below.

Now that he had a moment to breathe, the captain realized that was way too easy. They didn't fight back at all. Almost as if they wanted to be destroyed. Mar wished that had more information on this strange creature so that he could better anticipate his moves. Perhaps this was simply a diversion, so the creature could sneak onto planet again. But there was no such distraction last time. Maybe an investigation of the wreckage would yield some information.

* * *

The clones, the Jedi, and Kalani climbed out of the escape pods. The surviving droids climbed out the wreckage.

"Alright, we need to move fast." Rex instructed. "It's only a matter of time before they figure out what we did. You kids better get a move on. And remember, draw as much attention as possible."

The younglings took off in the direction of their objective.

"Alright everyone else! Form a protective perimeter around Kalani! Keep him alive at all costs!"

Three rings were formed around Kalani. The outermost perimeter was made up of one thousand basic battle droids. The next line of defense was a ring of one hundred clone troopers and inside of them, a ring of one dozen destroyer droids. Finally, Yoda himself was perched on Kalani's shoulders with his lightsaber out and ready to deflect blaster shots.

They began their long march towards the city.

A few minutes later, a probe droid began investigating the wreckage. It relayed footage of useless ship parts and wreaked landscape. It relayed footage of a forgotten golden protocol droid. It relayed footage of escape pods and footprints.

* * *

The younglings approached the power station. It was located in an industrial district. The station was protected by a tall, thick wall and a shield that protected against airborne threats.

"How are we supposed to get in there?" Ganodi asked.

"We don't have to get in, we just need to attract attention." Petro corrected.

"So, what do we do?" Zatt asked.

"Follow my lead!" Petro ignited his lightsaber and charged towards the wall.

The security droids looked down at the younglings running at the wall, their lightsabers standing out like glowsticks in the dusk. They opened fire, only to have the blaster bolts deflected. The alarms started wailing.

"Okay, now what?" Katooni asked once they were all in the shadow of the wall.

Petro grinned. "I've always wanted to do this." He stuck his lightsaber into the wall and wrote his name in glowing letters.

Katooni rose a brow. "Really?"

"Don't tell me you've never imagined doing this. Take the opportunity now before security gets here."

* * *

The main force was approaching the first security checkpoint at the entrance to the capital city of Raxus. As they got closer, one of the droids at the front of the group stepped on a mine and exploded.

"Mines! Everyone stop!" Rex shouted.

The droids at the security checkpoint took notice of the explosion and went on alert. They started shooting at the approaching invasion force.

"Captain, what do we do?"

Rex quickly analyzed the situation. They couldn't go charging into the minefield, but they took it slow they'd just be picked off.

"Everyone fall back! We need a new plan!" Rex ordered.

Kalani disagreed. "Negative. We do not have time to form a new plan."

"It's too dangerous! We'll all die out here!" Rex argued.

"Not all. All B-1 units, charge!"

A great mechanical clanking arose as all one thousand droids ran straight into the minefield. Then, like a ground-bound fireworks display, the explosions started. A great deal of dirt and smoke was thrown into the air.

Rex understood what Kalani was doing. "Now! Before the dust settles!"

They charged forwards again, moving swiftly across the now cleared minefield. The clones easily picked off the droids standing guard at the checkpoint and regrouped with the few remaining battle droids. Kalani ordered those droids to scout the way ahead.

While they waited for the scouts to return, Rex approached Kalani. "That was a pretty smart plan." He complemented.

"B-1 units are the perfect cannon fodder." Kalani replied.

"So what are going to do when this whole war is over?"

"Once the war is over, all prime directives will be complete. I would await further instruction."

"Instruction from who exactly?" Rex questioned.

"Whoever rises to power in the Separatist government I suppose."

"But you have no idea who that person will be or what they'll choose to do."

"Not currently no, but I eventually will."

"But don't you care who that person is?" Rex pressed.

"My programing dictates that I must follow whoever is in command."

"Then why are you here? You were commanded to turn over the droid army to be scrapped and you didn't! And now you're here invading the people that you once fought for! You've been making your own decisions without people telling you what to do! You're not mindless like those other clankers. You could be so much more than just a tool for people to utilize!"

"I was created for war. Nothing else."

"Yeah, and so was I." Rex pointed out. "All the clones were. For years we thought that was our only purpose. But I once met a clone who thought otherwise. He wasn't happy serving in the Grand Army of the Republic, so he left. He joined a family on a farm in the outer rim. He was created and trained to be a soldier and only a solider. But he chose to be a father instead."

"I am a droid. These things do not apply to me."

"A droid yes. But a unique droid you are." Yoda had been listening to this conversation for a while and decided now was the time to join in. "Have your own mind, you do."

Kalani processed this new information. Before he could come to a conclusion, a cry went up from the rear guard.

"Egg pawns!"

"Everyone, defensive positions now!" Rex shouted.

Kalani moved to take his position behind the destroyer droids and stepped on a leftover mine. His legs burst into pieces as the rest of his body went flying. Yoda was flung in another direction.

"Shit!" Rex ran over to Kalani, NOT thinking about what he would do if the droid was too badly damaged, if they didn't have the evidence they needed, if this whole mission was a failure…

Kalani looked up at Rex. "My mind is intact. I suggest we move to a safer position."


	45. Plans in Motion

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

The group of younglings was starting to feel overwhelmed by the number of droids shooting at them. Byph suggested retreating.

"No, we have to keep them distracted!" Petro objected. "We need to keep their attention away from the main force."

"I don't think we'll be able to do much good if we die." Zatt pointed out.

"Wait! What if we do that one thing we saw in the holocron?" Katooni proposed.

Ganodi looked worried. "Do you really think it'll work?"

"I don't think we have any choice!"

Petro, Zatt, and Gungi stepped forward to defend the others while they focused their concentration. With only three lightsabers instead of six, defending became much harder and while they only had to do it for a moment, that was enough time for a shot to slip past Gungi's guard and slam into his shoulder.

He fell to his knees, unable to do anything but stare down the muzzle of the droid's blaster as it aimed to kill. The bright red bolt of energy raced for him…

…And struck an invisible barrier inches in front of his face.

The droids fried everything they had at the invisible wall, but nothing could penetrate it.

Petro grinned. "Now it's our turn!" He stepped forward and shot Force Lightning through the barrier.

The attacking droids struck by the lightning spasmed and died. With the others maintaining the barrier, Petro struck back.

* * *

Jesse ran over to check on Yoda. He was breathing, but unconscious. Jesse scooped up the Jedi carried him away from the action. The group quickly moved forward, trying to outrun their attackers. They ran into the returning scouts.

"Is there anything up ahead?"

"The city is on high alert and every building is on lockdown. The Separatist Parliament is probably headed towards their bunker."

Rex, who was carrying Kalani, gave orders. "Alright men, if those droids behind us catch up, we're dead. So, our best is to make a run for the bunker. This is where our mission either succeeds or fails. If we die today, at least we died for a cause we chose to believe in."

They charged into the city with a roar.

* * *

After what seemed like hours of crawling through the vents, Shadow finally found what he was looking for, the loading bay.

"You still haven't explained what your plan is." Padme prodded.

"We need to sneak aboard the Death Star."

"And then?"

"We hide and wait for the signal. Now come on, we need to hide in one of these crates."

Shadow helped Padme climb into a crate and then climbed in himself. They waited in tense silence for the crate to be moved and the next phase of the plan to occur.

"Hurry up loading those crates!" Eggman bellowed. "And be careful! Those materials are delicate!"

The robots obeyed, as they'd been programed to. The shuttle was loaded, and the crates were shipped over to the Death Star.

* * *

With much of the city guard distracted, the group of clones and droids arrived at the Separatists' safety bunker. A clone began hacking the computer to override the door controls. The pursing force of egg pawns caught up and the destroyer droids moved to protect the clones and fight back.

But then a tank rumbled onto the scene. It was oval in shape, with a twenty-foot diameter. It was painted blue and gray and was adorned with Eggman's insignia. It boasted a quad-laser cannon on its rear, grenade and missile launchers, and a double barrel main turret.

With one shot, the tank killed half of the destroyers.

"Get us in there now!" Rex screamed.

"I'm trying!"

"Sir, I think I have an idea!" Jesse offered.

"Whatever it is, do it!"

"Here!" Jesse shoved the still unconscious Yoda into the arms of another clone and ran towards the tank.

There was an entrance hatch in the side of the tank. Jesse yanked open the hatch and went inside. He shot the main pilot first, then the one on the main turret, and finally the robot on the rear turret.

Jesse commed Rex. "Get everyone away from the door."

He climbed into the seat for the main turret and pointed the huge gun at the door to the bunker. Jesse fired.

After the forth shot, the heavy doors collapsed.

"Everybody in!"

They raced inside, and found the Separatist Parliament huddled at the far end of the bunker. Several of them had weapons pointed at the intruders. The Dooku Android stood out in front of them with Dooku's lightsaber ignited.

It was at that point that Rex realized just how hard it was going to be to explain all this them. "Uh… don't worry! We're not here to hurt you."

They stared disbelievingly

The Congress Leader Bec Lawise spoke for the others. "The last time you came here, you massacred us!"

"I will not allow this assault to continue!" The android proclaimed.

It sprang forward and was inches away from decapitating Rex when it was Force Pushed away.

Yoda hopped out of the arms of the clone who was holding him. "Deceived, you are. Dooku, this is not."

"What are you talking about?" Bec demanded.

"He's a droid." Rex explained. "Watch this." He pulled out a droid popper and threw it at the android.

It went off, and "Dooku" spasmed and collapsed.

The Parliament members stared, wide-eyed.

"H-how is that possible?"

"Deceived, you have been." Yoda repeated. "Dead, Dooku is."

"But, why? Who would build a fake Dooku?" Bec asked.

"Someone who wants to control you without you knowing. Who wants us to fight while they build power." Rex stated. "That massacre you were talking about? That was staged. And we have proof."

Kalani the displayed his memory file of Dooku giving him the orders and the commando droids disguising themselves.

Most of the Separatists still looked wary, but at least the weapons were lowered.

"If you're not here to fight us then why are you here at all?"

Rex steeled himself. This went against everything he had been taught. "Because we need your help. We're not strong enough to take on the new droid army."

"Who is your enemy if it's not us?"

"Our enemy is Chancellor Palpatine. Also known as Darth Sidious."

"Your own chancellor?"

"Yes, he's secretly been orchestrating this whole war. All of us were pawns in his game."

"How do we stop him?"

"We need you to shut down the droid army."

"No!" Someone in the back yelled. "You're just trying to trick us!"

"If we wanted to shoot you, we would have done that already." Rex pointed out.

"Give us a minute to discuss." Bec requested.

* * *

Eggman arrived at the Death Star. He quickly made his way to the main reactor and inserted the Chaos Emeralds. He was tired of taking orders from that creepy wizard, but now he was finally ready to make his move.

But first, he had to deal with the current commander of the Death Star. Eggman hurried to the command center.

Trench was examining his new command center when Eggman burst in and pointed a blaster at him.

"Wow, you are even uglier than I'd thought you'd be!" Eggman exclaimed in disgust.

Trench wasn't fazed. "Doctor Eggman. I've heard so much about you. But I'm pretty sure you're supposed to be taking my orders, not pointing blasters at me."

"I won't be taking orders from anyone anymore. I'm running this empire now."

"It appears you're not as intelligent as the rumors say. Do you really think you can take out my entire security force here?" Trench gestured to the four egg pawns in the room's four corners.

But then he noticed that their weapons were pointed at him!

"You mean the security force that _I_ built?" Eggman grinned smugly.

Trench realized he was trapped. "Very well. I surrender."

"Sorry, but I really don't like spiders."

And then Eggman shot him. Repeatedly.

* * *

After a few minutes of discussion, Bec turned back to the clones and asked, "Where is Shadow?"

"Not here." Rex answered. "He was captured."

"Exactly how accurately did the news stories depict him?"

"They're as inaccurate as inaccurate gets. Shadow's not interested in power, except for what he needs to get home. He doesn't do anything without a reason. He's a bit… aggressive towards people he doesn't like, but you are not on that list. He doesn't even know who you are."

"What do you plan to do when Palpatine is gone?"

"First we need to find a new planet to call home. After that well… some of us are going to study politics, some of us are going to study the culinary arts…" Rex shrugged. "Basically, we're going to find what we're passionate about and just… live our lives."

Bec considered this. "So that's what Shadow wanted for you?"

"Yes. He wasn't trying to hurt the Republic. He… hated them, mostly because of what they did to us, but once we were free he didn't seek any further retribution against them."

"I see." Bec conferred with the others some more and then announced, "We're with you."

Rex was deeply relieved. "Great now can you shut down the droids?"

Bec nodded. "Yes, we were given an emergency shut down code."

He walked over to large computer and input the code.

* * *

"I don't think we can keep this up for much longer!" Ganodi cried as she struggled to hold the shield together.

All the younglings were exhausted, their reserves of Force power almost depleted.

"Just a little longer!" Petro encouraged.

But then the droids stopped firing.

"They did it!" Zatt panted. "They shut down the droid army!"

"Um… I'm not so sure about that." Katooni said, pointing at the droids as they started moving once again.

The egg pawns turned around and began marching away.

"Where are they going?" Petro asked.


	46. Betrayal!

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Everyone sedately walked out of the Parliament's bunker. Rex, Kalani, and Bec were discussing what to do next.

"With the entire army deactivated, Palpatine has no power." Bec stated confidently.

"Actually, there's one other thing you should know." Rex started. "Palpatine is a Sith Lord."

"That thing the Jedi labeled Dooku as?"

"He was Dooku's master."

Bec frowned pensively. "I… see."

"I had about the same reaction when I found out too."

"Sir? I think we have a problem!" Edge pointed at the approaching army that everyone thought was deactivated. "I thought you guys shut them all down!"

"We did!" Cried Bec. "I don't know what's going on!"

The droids opened fire.

"Stop! I order you to stop!" Bec screamed.

The droids killed him.

"Everyone, get back in the bunker!" Rex ordered.

* * *

Anakin felt Shadow and Padme get further away. Phase one was a success. He went to the throne room to enact phase two.

He entered the room and knelt to Sidious. "Master, the hedgehog appears to have escaped."

Sidious's cold gaze pierced Anakin. "Escaped? Where is he now?"

"I don't know, but his cell is empty."

"Then I shall find him."

Sidious closed his eyes in concentration and Anakin struck. His blade was stopped inches away from the Sith Lord's throat.

"Was this really your best plan? Did you think I would not sense their minds getting further away? Did you think I wouldn't sense your treachery?"

Horror froze Anakin's heart and a tiny part of him whispered _I knew it!_

"Did you honestly believe that you could deceive me so easily? You still have so much to learn. Like the meaning of pain!"

Sidious sprayed powerful Force Lightning from his hands. Anakin screamed wildly and fell, spasming on the floor.

After a few seconds the Lightning stopped. "Now, let's find out what Shadow's been up to."

* * *

Shadow and Padme were still hidden inside their box.

"How much longer?" Padme whispered.

"Just a lit- Ahhhh!"

The familiar pain stabbed through his skull. Shadow tried to muffle himself but couldn't help emitting whimpers and moans of pain. Padme tried to come with something to help but couldn't think of anything.

"We're caught." She whispered to herself.

* * *

 _Sidious smiled arrogantly at Shadow. "So this is the Ultimate Lifeform's big plan: hide in a box. How disappointing. I honestly expected more from you. But you left Skywalker to face me while you hid like a coward. In case you're wondering, he failed."_

 _Then Sidious realized something shocking._

 _Shadow wasn't afraid._

 _If fact, he seemed almost amused. "That's why I had a Plan B."_

" _Plan B? What is-"_

* * *

Sidious stumbled as an explosion shook Remorseless. He was back in his own mind, his concentration broken. He looked out the window to see the Death Star firing at him. Snarling in rage, Sidious returned to Shadow's mind.

* * *

" _What did you do?"_

 _Shadow looked as innocent as he could while in significant pain. "Me? I didn't do anything. I'm just hiding in a box remember? That was Eggman."_

" _Impossible. He knows the power I possess. He wouldn't dare!"_

" _He dares. In fact, he's dared with powers greater and more ancient than you. He's tried to tame the powers of literal gods. To him, him you're just like me. Just another annoying pest getting in the way. And now that he has all seven Emeralds, he doesn't need you for anything anymore." Shadow smirked triumphantly. "Now I'm just going to sit back and relax and let you witness the power of Eggman's ego!"_

" _I'll be back to deal with you." Sidious hissed and withdrew from Shadow's mind._

* * *

"How long until the super laser is fully charged?" Eggman asked.

"Twenty minutes, Doctor." The robot assistant answered.

"Twenty minutes! I have all seven Emeralds and takes twenty minutes just to charge up a super weapon?"

"Those Emeralds also power everything else on this station including the life support, shields, and all the other turbo lasers you are ordering to fire on that ship."

"I know, I know! But it still shouldn't take this long! Something's not right here…"

"It is also important to note that Protocol 99 was activated 12.6 minutes ago."

"So the Parliament tried to shut down the army huh? The forces stationed on Raxus will take care of it." Eggman dismissed. "Now go find my translator and tell him to bring me a drink."

Eggman sat thinking. Why was the super laser taking so long to charge? They were drawing power from seven of the most powerful artifacts in existence. It shouldn't even take half that long. Unless…

Eggman clenched his fist. "Shadow!"

* * *

Sidious strode to the wall behind his throne and opened up a secret panel in the wall. On the other side was his personal escape ship. He was about to get in when he was pulled back with the Force. Sidious looked up to see Anakin back on his feet.

"You're not going anywhere. This is where you die."

"No…" Sidious hissed. "No, you will die!"

He retaliated with lightning and Anakin blocked it with his lightsaber.

* * *

The clones and the remaining members of the Separatist Parliament retreated back into the bunker and blocked the opening with the tank.

Senator Voe Atell stepped up to speak for the Parliament in Bec Lawise's place. "I don't understand. Why are they attacking us?"

"I calculate a 98% chance that the shut down code you were given was a fake." Kalani deduced. "I believe the code signaled them to kill you. It is probable that Palpatine programmed it as a fail-safe against betrayal. Or in this case, learning the truth."

"So that's it then, we're all going to die." A depressed looking member of the Parliament declared.

"We're not dead yet! Form a defensive perimeter!" Rex ordered.

* * *

The younglings not knowing what else to do, decided to go find the main force and find out what was going on.

"You doing okay Gungi?" Katooni asked looking at the blaster wound in his shoulder.

He nodded.

"I wonder what's going on with the droids?" Ganodi said thoughtfully.

"Maybe they've taken control of the droids so we can use them to fight Sidous?" Zatt suggested.

"I don't think so." Katooni countered.

"Why?"

"Listen."

They listened and heard the faint sounds of explosions.

"I don't think that's the sound of the droids joining us."

"We need to get over there." Petro said and almost started running when he spotted something.

A golden protocol droid wandering around aimlessly.

"Hello? Hello, is anyone here?"

"Is that C-3PO?"

"Oh my, thank goodness! Can one of you tell me what is going on? Where are we?"

Byph explained where they were and what they were doing.

"Trying to shut down the droid army? Oh my, oh my!"

"Oh my, what?" Petro pressed.

"My memory files tell me that horrible doctor created two different codes. A real shut down code and a fake one. If the Separatist Parliament uses the fake code, the droids are programmed to eliminate them!"

The youngling's eyes were wide.

"I think that's happening right now." Katooni whispered in horror.

"Wait, you said there were two codes." Zatt pointed out. "Do you know which one is the real one?"

"Why… yes I believe I do!" C-3PO said excitedly. "I remembered after that doctor reprogrammed me! He gave me this code and told me-"

"We need to get you to a terminal right now!" Petro interrupted.

"I don't think we're going to be able to get to the bunker." Katooni said. "The noises are coming from over there."

"Where else are we going to find a big, important computer?"

"How about over there? That building looks big and important." Ganodi pointed to the Parliament building.

"It's worth a shot. Let's go!"

Petro lead the way.

* * *

Shadow's headache finally subsided. "Alright, I better get moving."

"Moving? What for? What about the signal?" Padme questioned.

"That was the signal. Now we have to stop Eggman from firing the super laser. I sabotaged the power core before I turned myself over to Anakin. I cut holes in the cables that deliver the Emeralds' power to the super laser, so it will take a lot longer to charge up. But it will only be a matter of time until mister 'I have an IQ of 300' figures it out. So we need to stop him from fixing it."

"Wait so you want Eggman to shoot at Sidious's ship, but you don't want him to destroy it?"

"Exactly." Shadow confirmed. "If he destroys the ship now, then Anakin dies too. Eggman shooting at his ship is just a distraction. Anakin kills Sidious and I make sure he doesn't get blown up."

Shadow opened the box and hopped out.

Padme followed him. "I'm coming with you."

Shadow looked skeptical. "You're a one-armed politician. What exactly are you going to do?"

"I know my way around a blaster and I only need one hand to use one."

"You do realize that me saving you is the only reason Anakin agreed to do this, right?"

"Then I guess you better find me a blaster so I can defend myself." Padme said with a slightly cheeky grin.

Shadow scowled at her. "Ugh, fine! Wait here a second."

A few seconds later, Padme heard blaster fire and a loud clang, and Shadow came back with a blaster.

"For a moment there, I thought you were just going to ditch me."

"I strongly considered it. Now let's go."

Shadow and Padme made their way through the hallways of the Death Star. Eggman's robots tried to stop them, but Shadow cut them up close with the Darksaber and Padme shot them from a distance with her blaster.

They reached the power core and found Eggman overlooking the damage Shadow had done.

"Hello, Doctor." Shadow growled.

But to his surprise, Eggman wasn't terrified by his sudden appearance.

"Shadow. I had a feeling you'd be here. I told Sidious we should have just killed you when we had the chance. I knew it'd only be a matter of time before you escaped." The mad scientist grinned. "Which is why I made the intelligent decision of borrowing Sidious's bodyguards."

He snapped his fingers and a dozen Cortosis Sonic droids descended from the ceiling.

* * *

The younglings entered the deserted capital building.

"Huh. No security?" Zatt mused.

"It looks like all the droids abandoned their posts in favor of attacking the Parliament." Petro responded.

They hunted around until they found the main control center. As soon as they stepped into the room, alarms stared blaring. Automated turrets popped out of the walls and ceiling to shoot at them.

"Why can't anything ever just be easy?" Petro cried.

"We'll never make it!" C-3PO despaired.

Petro shoved him forward. "Yes, we will! Just get to the computer and punch in the code. We'll cover you!"

C-3PO shuffled across the floor as quickly as he could with the younglings sans Gungi flanking him and deflecting blaster bolts. Gungi stayed in the doorway because of his injury. One bolt slipped past the exhausted younglings and hit C-3PO's leg, causing him to fall.

"Ahhhh!"

"Get up! Get up!" Ganodi urged.

"I can't! My leg isn't working!"

"Then crawl!"

The protocol droid began to crawl.

"Can't you go any faster?" Petro shouted.

"I was not designed for this!"

Eventually, he reached the control console, but it was too high for him to reach.

"I can't reach it!"

"Seriously? Come on!" Zatt yelled in frustration.

Observing all of this from the doorway, Gungi got an idea. He used the Force to lift C-3PO so he could reach the buttons.

"Oh, well this works." C-3PO began typing. "2, 0, 0, 1, enter!"

* * *

Shadow looked around at all the Cortosis Sonics that surrounded him. He could easily use Chaos Control to escape, but he would need an Emerald to take Padme with him. His only option was to fight, but even he did not like these odds.

"Cortosis Sonics, attack!"

The robots started to move forward…

…And suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"What? What? WHAT?" Eggman screamed. "What just happened!?"

Eggman's bewilderment was interrupted when he got hit with a stun blast, courtesy of Padme.

"Not bad." Shadow complimented. "Now it's up to Anakin."


	47. May the Force be with you

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Explosions rocked the ship as Anakin and Sidious did their best to keep their footing while simultaneously trying to kill each other.

Anakin ran forward to close the distance them. Sidious leapt back and fired Force Lightning to keep him at bay. Anakin responded by shooting his own Lightning. Their powers met between them and quickly built up into an explosion that flung them both back.

Anakin got up first and tried to charge Sidious again. The Sith raised his blade to block his strike.

"Have you forgotten who is the master here?" Sidious taunted.

"You were never my master!"

Anakin pounded his lightsaber against Sidious's guard. He shoved back with the Force to gain some breathing room.

"Your powers have grown, but you are still no match for me."

Using the Force, Sidious picked up his throne and threw it at Anakin. He sliced through it and saw Sidious rushing in to impale him. The ship was rocked by another explosion, causing Sidious to stumble.

Anakin sized the opportunity to shoot Lightning at him. Sidious collapsed, writhing in pain. Anakin slowly approached him with his lightsaber. Sidious's face was now scarred and disfigured. He appeared to have aged several decades in the space of a few seconds.

"It's time to end this."

"I… couldn't… agree more!"

Sidious flung Anakin against the wall with the Force and then threw him against the other wall, before finally slamming him onto the floor. He approached Anakin with fury blazing in his eyes.

"Now, young Skywalker… you will die!"

Anakin leapt to his feet and shouted, "You first!" and threw his lightsaber.

Sidious easily sidestepped the attack. But then he saw that Anakin was not aiming at him.

He was aiming at the window!

The bright blue blade spun end over end and met the glass tip first. The window shattered under the pressure of the escaping air.

Anakin rammed his metal fist into the floor as hard as he could, managing to drive it in deep enough that he was caught and not sucked out immediately. Sidious on the other hand was pulled towards the window and just barely managed to grab its edge. He tried to pull himself back in, but Anakin shot a blast of Lightning at him. It shoved Sidious fully out the window and he floated off into the vacuum of space.

* * *

Shadow screamed as intense pain flared in his head. He collapsed, thrashing on the ground. Sidious's own screams of rage slammed against the inside of Shadow's skull.

Padme stared in anxiety. Had the plan failed?

But then the screams started to fade. The pain lessened, until it was finally gone. Shadow sat up, panting and rubbing his head.

"What happened?" Padme demanded.

"He's dead. Sidious is dead."

Shadow could hardly believe it. Sidious was dead! He was free!

Shadow got up and walked over to the Chaos Emeralds. "Now to save Anakin before the ship explodes."

* * *

Anakin clung to the floor, trying to figure out what to do next. The air and heat were almost gone and once that happened, Anakin would have only a couple of minutes before he died too. He felt his metal hand start to slip out of the hole.

Was this it? Was this how he died? At least Padme would be safe.

As his hand slipped free of the floor, Anakin saw a shimmer of light. It blinded him. A second later, he found himself laying on a cold metal floor.

"Come on, you better not have died on me!"

"Anakin!"

Anakin opened his eyes, gasping for air.

"Ani!" Padme grabbed him in a one-armed hug and pressed her face against his shoulder, sobbing.

Anakin's arms wrapped around her without any direction from his brain, which was still trying to make sense of the bright source of light in front of him.

"Shadow?"

The hedgehog's black fur had turned a brilliant gold and was glowing brightly enough to light up the room.

Shadow smirked. "This is the power of Chaos."

* * *

Much later, everyone rendezvoused on Raxus. There was a large meeting held to determine what to do next. The Separatist Parliament were the only ones who had any real power left in the galaxy, but not enough for a full galactic government.

The Separatists were not interested in bringing back the Republic. They did not want to return to a time of discrimination and corruption. It was decided that every planetary government was to look out for themselves. There would be no galactic government structure, at least for the time being.

It was decided that the Death Star and Eggman's droid army would be scrapped, as no one needed those instruments of war anymore and also to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

The discussion finally turned to the clones and where they were going to live.

Padme, now sporting a new metal arm, stood to speak for the clones. "All they request is a home where they can live in peace."

"And you better grant them that request or you're gonna have some problems." Shadow threatened.

"Shadow!" Padme hissed. "This is supposed to be a peaceful negotiation!"

"And it will be. Provided everyone gives the clones the respect they deserve."

"Interrupt, if I may. I suggestion, I have." Yoda offered. "Offer the Jedi Temple as living quarters for the clones, I do."

Rex and Cody were shocked.

"You're just going to give us the Jedi Temple? The whole thing?" Cody gasped.

"Serve the Republic and the Jedi Order for years, you have. Repay you for that service, we will."

Rex and Cody couldn't believe it. They didn't think that they would end up living anywhere as half as nice as the Jedi Temple.

"Thank you, Master Yoda." Rex breathed.

After discussing a few more issues, the meeting broke up.

* * *

The clones traveled to Coruscant to begin moving into the Temple. It was still beat up from when the Separatists attacked, but this did not diminish the clones' enthusiasm at all. A few clones who were budding architects were eagerly discussing plans to rebuild. Padme found a classroom that she declared ideal for teaching politics to any clones who were interested.

Seeing that the clones were going to be okay, Shadow decided it was finally time to leave.

He found Dauntless wandering around, gaping at the beauty of the Temple.

"Hey Dauntless, I need you to deliver a message to all the other clones for me."

Dauntless jumped, then focused on Shadow. "Oh, hi, didn't see you there. I'm just so amazed by all the color and design here. This is way better than all white they had on Kamino."

"That's great." Shadow said sincerely. "Now I need you to deliver a message for me. I'm leaving. I want to say goodbye and good luck."

Shadow abruptly turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Dauntless called. "Thank you. For all that you've done. For being the first one to really care about us."

Shadow nodded and continued walking away.

Anakin was helping Padme set up her classroom.

"So are you going to go back to being a Jedi?" Shadow asked.

Anakin turned to him. "I… don't know. I don't know if I deserve to be a Jedi anymore."

"Like I said before, you don't need to be one."

"Yeah, but then what _do_ I do?"

"Whatever you want to do." Shadow answered. "I'm going to be leaving. Goodbye."

Anakin stopped Shadow from leaving. "Hold on a second! I need to thank you. For saving Padme. And me."

"Well we did make a deal after all." Shadow said with a significant look at Padme. "I trust you'll hold up your end of the bargain after I'm gone?"

"Of course. After all you've done, how can I not?"

Shadow left them and traveled to one of the ships. Within its brig, Petro was watching Eggman.

"Keeping watch on our prisoner?"

"Yeah, that's something I want to ask you about. Why haven't you killed him?" Petro questioned.

"I'm right here!" Eggman shouted indignantly.

"No one cares." Shadow said coldly. "To answer your question, a friend back home called dibs."

"Called dibs?"

"Yeah it's his life goal. Anyway, I'm going to be leaving now."

"You're leaving already?"

"I have all the Chaos Emeralds, I have Eggman, and Sidious is dead. There's nothing left for me to do here."

"Then I'll come with you!" Petro blurted.

Shadow looked at him as if he were crazy. "You can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because this is where you belong. This galaxy needs you. Just like how Mobius needs me. I need you to watch over this place and make sure the mistakes of the past are never repeated."

"How can I do that?"

"You already know how." Shadow assured him. "You just need the will to do it."

"Can you stop with the sap? I think I'm gonna throw up!" Eggman butted in.

"Shut up Eggman. We're going." Shadow reached for the cell button only to go stiff as he was suddenly hugged. "I'm not a hugger, kid."

Petro let go. "I know."

Shadow opened the cell and bound Eggman with a pair of energy cuffs. He brought out the seven Chaos Emeralds and, in a flash, they were gone.

Petro stared at the empty space where Shadow once stood.

"May the Force be with you, Shadow the Hedgehog."


	48. Epilogue

Shadow's Odyssey: A Star Wars Story

Commander Cody was elected to represent the clones as their political leader. Rex was offered the position, but he turned it down, saying politics weren't really his thing. He instead joined the Coruscant Police Force.

Many clones left Coruscant and traveled the galaxy in search of their passions. Chef went on to open up his own restaurant after he learned how to stop setting the kitchen on fire.

Dauntless went on to become the interior designer of the Clone Temple and designed a Hall of Fame for all the heroic clones and Shadow.

* * *

Yoda was at first unsure of what he would do with the Jedi Order. But one thing he was sure of was that change was needed. There needed to be new standards, new rules. But he wasn't quite sure what those new rules should be.

If there was one thing he had learned in the past few weeks, it was how little he really understood about the Force. He decided the best thing to do was travel the galaxy and study as many different philosophies as he could. And hopefully, he would gain a greater understanding of the universe around him.

The younglings traveled with him, including Petro, who he welcomed back as his student. He invited Anakin to join them, but he turned them down, preferring to stay with Padme instead. He said that his destiny lied with her.

* * *

While most of the droid army became the protectors of various Outer Rim worlds, Kalani on the other hand, after discovering all the lies and deception that fueled his very existence, found himself with the desire to learn more.

To learn more about everything. To find a purpose beyond killing people because someone else told him to. And so, he set out to visit every library he could find.

* * *

It was another day in G.U.N headquarters. Work had been slow since Eggman had died, but none of them were complaining. But suddenly, there was a bright light in the middle of the room. When the light faded, Shadow and Eggman were standing there.

Shadow looked around at all the shocked faces. "Hey, I'm back. And I brought a present for you." He threw Eggman at them. "Where's Rouge and Omega?"

* * *

The bat and robot stood in front of Shadow's grave. Rouge held a bouquet of flowers. They were silent, remembering their friend.

Just as Rouge was about to put the flowers on the grave, "Guys it's touching that you made a grave for me, but it also kind of hurts that you thought I could die."

They whipped around and saw Shadow standing with his arms crossed.

"Shadow! You are functional!" Omega cheered.

"Not how I would put it, but yes."

"You- you- Dammit Shadow!" Rouge threw the bouquet in his face. "Stop making us think you're dead!"

"I would have thought the lack of a body would have given you a clue."

"ARRGH!" Rouge screamed. "We're supposed to be team for fuck's sake! Why the hell did you run in there alone!? Do you have any idea how worried we were!?"

"I thought I could handle it, and I was right."

"THE ENTIRE BASE EXPLODED!"

"It looked really cool." Omega commented. "But I couldn't enjoy it because you were inside."

"Well the base didn't exactly explode as much as it was teleported." Shadow looked over at Rouge, who was trying to blink back tears, and sighed. "You didn't really think I was dead, did you?" A tear slipped out. Great. Now he felt bad. "Alright, I'm sorry I didn't consider your feelings. But I am not sorry that you were outside the blast zone."

"When are you going to get it through your thick head that we care about you?"

"I know you care about me. That's why I wanted you to stay back where it was safe."

"That goes both ways you know. Where have you been this whole time anyway?" She demanded.

"Well that's a long story. You see, I found myself in a galaxy far, far away…"

 **The End**

 **Thank you all for reading! And special thanks to everyone who faved, followed, and/or reviewed! This was by far the most ambitious writing project we've ever undertaken, and we are enormously pleased with how it turned out and the reception it's gotten. This is not only the most faved story I have posted, but at the time I am writing this, Shadow's Odyssey is the most faved story in the entire Sonic/Star Wars crossover section. Thank you all, for making that happen. One more thing, there is a sequel in the works. Posting will probably start in a few months. Goodbye for now!**


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